rapper

His lawyer Ashkan Mehryari, confirmed the death to Newsbeat, saying the artist, real name Dashawn Robertson, had taken his own life.

The official cause of death has not been confirmed by the medical examiner.

The Dallas rapper was arrested in 2020 on a murder charge in connection with the shooting of 18-year-old Khalil Walker. In February he was reportedly indicted on a lesser charge of manslaughter.

He will be awarded alongside musician Lionel Richie, singer Gloria Estefan, TV writer Normal Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade.

The awards annually celebrate arts figures for their contributions to American culture.

LL Cool J tweeted: "To be the first rap artist honoured by the @kencen is beyond anything I could have imagined."

He added: "Dreams don't have deadlines. God is great."

At 49, he ties with Stevie Wonder as the youngest artist to receive the honour.

Slim Shady paid tribute to his fellow rapper on Thursday with some lyrical love, rapping some of 50 Cent's song "Places To Go" from the "8 Mile" soundtrack.

"Yo, Fif, first off, I wanna say happy birthday," Eminem said in a video posted on Instagram. "Secondly, I want to remind you of a verse you did that made me want to quit rapping."

The now bearded Eminem then launched into "Picture a perfect picture/picture me in a pimp hat/picture me starting s**t/picture me busting my gat."

He was pulled over around 1:30 a.m., shortly after leaving Hollywood's Avenue nightclub, according to LAPD Public Information Officer Liliana Preciado.

Tyga, whose real name is Michael Ray Stevenson, was driving a Mercedes G-Series with temporary tags when officers stopped him. Preciado told CNN that due to all the paparazzi at the location, they transported Tyga to their Hollywood station to conduct a field sobriety test.

Anyone transported in a police car is routinely handcuffed, Preciado said.

All Eyez On Me is a dramatisation of the rapper's life, telling the true story of his rise to fame to his controversial years at the top.

It will also focus on his highly publicised death.

He's sold millions of records all around the world and on Friday became only the sixth rapper to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Demetrius Shipp Jr. plays the role of Tupac in the film and it's his first big part.

Danai Gurira, from the Walking Dead, also plays Tupac's Mum.

E! News can confirm the rapper was slapped with a six-figure bill from F&S Investment Property after renting out a Los Angeles home used to run his side business, Egypt Last Kings Clothing.