Jim Belushi reveals why he thinks of Tupac every time he watches a sunrise

Whenever Jim Belushi watches the day break, he thinks of Tupac Shakur.

The actor (and cannabis farmer) blew up social media Wednesday when he recounted a memorable moment he shared with the late rapper, who costarred with Belushi in the 1997 thriller Gang Related.

"Every time I watch the sunrise, I think of Tupac," Belushi tweeted. "We once watched the sunrise together after a long night. It was quiet for a second then he looked at me and said 'I'm a thug, I prefer the sunrise.' I really don't know what that means, but I still live by it to this day."

Their collaboration in the Jim Kouf-directed movie would mark Shakur's final film appearance. Gang Related was released in October 1997, more than a year after the famed artist was murdered in Las Vegas after attending a boxing match with Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight. Shakur was shot multiple times while in their vehicle by an unknown assailant. His murder remains unsolved to this day.

Belushi has said that his relationship with Shakur got off to a rocky start — "We had the most beautiful fight," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1997 — but they quickly reconciled and "were brothers." In 2019, responding to a tweet from a fan who had just watched Gang Related for the first time, Belushi praised Shakur's acting chops.

"To me, Pac was so much more than just a rapper, he was also an amazing talent on screen," he said. "I think he would have continued to develop his raw skills as an actor and it would have been cool to see. He really wasn't afraid of anything. He was a friend & I think about him often."

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