"2Pac Fridays" E-mails Prove Iowa Official's Fixation With Tupac Before Resigning

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Rappers The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and Redman backstage at a Tupac Shakur performance at Club Amazon on July 23, 1993 in New York, New York.
An official at the Iowa Department of Human Services tried to raise morale with "2Pac Fridays" but his apparent fixture with the rap star led to his resignation.

Anyone who doesn't like Tupac is probably a Lil Xan fan. That being said, Governor Kim Reynolds likely an opp. The director of the Iowa Department of Human Services Jerry Foxhaven was a stan of Tupac to the point where he had 'Pac-themed cookies to celebrate his 65th birthday. But according to KCCI, his fixture on the late rap star may have led to his resignation.

Jerry Foxhaven's love for Tupac was deeper than most. In fact, it seems to be a large factor that played into the Governor of Iowa urging Foxhaven into resigning from his position. E-mails obtained by the Associated Press revealed that Foxhaven would regularly send messages to all 4,300 employees praising Tupac's music. However, one person complained to lawmakers which resulted in Foxhaven being abruptly removed from his position as director.

Foxhaven's actions were fairly innocuous and for the most part, it seemed like he essentially just wanted to brighten up the office culture. He would host "Tupac Fridays" where he'd play Pac's music in the office. He also sent e-mails reminding everyone of Tupac's death anniversary. However, when someone ratted him out to Gov. Kim Reynolds, she urged him to resign. That came only a day after he sent an e-mail to the whole agency, asking employees to play some of 'Pac's music over the weekend to commemorate the late rapper's birthday.

Despite Gov. Reynolds urging him to resign, the governor's office nor Foxhaven would confirm he resigned because of his obsession with Tupac.

"As the governor has said, a lot of factors contributed to the resignation of Jerry Foxhoven and now Gov. Reynolds is looking forward to taking DHS in a new direction," said spokesman Pat Garrett.

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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