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June 16 would've marked the 35th birthday of late hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur, who died tragically in Sept. of 1996 from gunshot wounds inflicted during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Considered an icon of his generation, Shakur (born Lesane Parish Crooks) was a platinum-selling gangsta rap icon that went on to make Hollywood movies -- subsequently becoming a key figure beyond the recording industry.

On Aug. 29, Atria Books will release 'Tupac Shakur Legacy,' a spectacularly packaged, illustrated biography featuring removable documents, rare memorabilia, and an audio CD-offering the first real interactive way to experience his life and career.

Jamal Joseph, an acclaimed author, film director, activist, and educator who credits his time spent in prison as the inspiration for all of his creative output, is one of the minds behind the 'Legacy' -- which was authorized by Shakur's estate. The Bronx native befriended Afeni Shakur (Tupac's mother) while a teenager -- then became a Black Panther.

"Tupac was more than a music star, more than an actor," Joseph told Black Voices. "Tupac was a prophet and a seer for his generation. He captured the imagination, the voice, the feelings of his generation."

"He had a message that came out of his experiences growing up in Harlem, Baltimore and California," he continued, "and being the son of Black Panther parent and seeing the tragedy, death and drug addiction in his own family; he talked about it in terms that the black community could relate to, that white kids could relate to, that kids around the world relate to."

Now the Acting Chair of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Division and the artistic director of the New Heritage Theater in Harlem, Joseph called the project (a hard cover coffee table book designed by Becker & Mayer) a true labor of love. "It's a wonderful piece of work where you can feel everyone's love of Tupac and you feel his presence all through it."

Joseph, who has contributed to previous posthumous projects, believes that what seems like Shakur's never-ending impact on pop culture reached far beyond commercial viability.

"I have international students at Columbia telling me that in Jamaica, in Africa, in New Zealand that they bump Tupac ten years later because he speaks about the anger, the rage, the hopes, the dreams, the disappointments and the tenacity of a whole generation. That’s what it is. It's music for people, that is of the people. His quotes, his words, his music, his acting performances just really transcended and it's in that moment of time that makes him this historical figure that we relate to, as we relate to people like Malcolm X."