TWO more gangsta rap fans are demanding their town commemorate their hip hop hero.

The fans, who gave their names as Neil Whitemore, 40, Graham Staines, 37, want a plaque in Lancing in memory of rapper Tupac Shakur.

It comes after a bench in honour of fellow gangsta rap star Eazy-E was installed in Newhaven, following a £1,500 fundraiser.

So far, the Lancing pair have raised £20 for a small plaque to be fixed to an existing bench in Monks Recreation Ground.

Mr Staines said: “Tupac was taken from us too soon over 5,000 miles away in Las Vegas.

“When he died, a little bit of Lancing died too.

“The one in Newhaven is too shiny and new and doesn’t represent the struggle of a young African American male in the late 1980s and early 1990s.”

Tupac, the Changes, Dear Mama and Hit Em Up rapper, is considered one of the all-time greatest artists of the genre.

He was murdered in 1996, aged 25, amid the notorious East Coast/West Coast hip hop rivalry.

The Lancing fans are hoping to avoid reigniting similar tensions between their town, in West sussex, and Newhaven, in East Sussex.

Mr Whitemore said: “Music is something that keeps us together, but in other cases, it actually divides us.

“I just hope Newhaven and Lancing can get along, I mean, no blood has to be spilled over this.”

Eazy-E superfan Guy Stevens, the man behind the Newhaven bench, has already responded to the campaign.

He said: “Guy Stevens, often imitated never duplicated.

“West Sussex has always been the grey, inferior side of Sussex and if Lancing wants a war I’ll give you a war.

“But I accept their surrender and am glad we narrowly avoided the a bloody battle.”

He added that he would be happy to contribute to their campaign as he believes the South Coast should be a “beacon of gangsta rapper tributes”.

Tupac Shakur was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in 1994 and spent nine months in prison.

A Lancing Parish council spokeswoman, who “actually has heard of Tupac” but “doesn’t know how”, believes the campaign will be rejected.

She said there is not an option to put a plaque on an existing bench as all benches must be bought complete with a plaque.

If they managed to pay for the bench, councillors were likely to reject it anyway considering the rapper’s “background”.

She said that in any case, Monks Recreation Ground is undergoing improvement and the council is not accepting any new projects.