Tupac Malik Shakur Needs His Unemployment Check

Trying to get Trump Bucks and/or apply for unemployment is turning into a Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare. I can only imagine this is extra difficult if your name happens to be Tupac Shakur and your governor thinks you’re dead.

Such is the fate befalling one Tupac Malik Shakur, who happens to have the same first and last name as the long-dead rapper. According to the Lexington Herald-Reader, Shakur applied for unemployment benefits in Kentucky after he lost his job as a cook in March. But because of his name, officials believed the application was fake. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said as much during a press conference on Monday night.

“We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky,” he said. “And that person may have thought they were being funny, they probably did. Except for the fact that because of them, we had to go through so many other claims.”

The still-living Shakur, 46, wasn’t in fact joking and needs his money. “I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said. He’s not happy with the governor:

“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur said. “He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”

Beshear did, thankfully, call Shakur to apologize, which Shakur said he appreciated. Still, somebody needs to get him his unemployment check.