Iowa’s Department of Human Services director was reportedly asked to step down the workday after he sent an agencywide email to all 4,300 employees with song lyrics from the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

The Associated Press reports Iowa Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven frequently sent such messages to various employees praising Tupac’s musical work, but was asked by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) to resign last month after he sent the agencywide email.

ADVERTISEMENT

For years, Foxhoven hosted weekly “Tupac Fridays” where he would play the rapper’s music in the office. He also brought Shakur-themed cookies to the office to celebrate his 65th birthday, some with the iconic phrase “Thug life” written on them, according to the report.

The AP, through a public records request, was given 350 pages worth of emails with the words “Tupac” or “2Pac” sent to and from Foxhoven during his two-year tenure at the helm of Iowa’s Department of Human Services.

It is not immediately clear if Foxhoven was asked to step down on June 17 due to the mass email he sent asking employees to commemorate the rapper’s birthday by listening to one of his songs.

“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,” Reynold’s spokesman Pat Garrett told the AP.

Foxhoven was appointed by Reynolds to run the agency in 2017. He reportedly noted in one of his emails sent before his ouster that the governor had made the decision to “go in a different direction” before he sent the agencywide email celebrating both Shakur’s birthday and his two-year work anniversary.

Foxhoven told the AP he was not given a reason for his ouster but doubted it was due to his Shakur email. He said he sent the email in an attempt to break down racist stereotypes about rap music.