Swedish girl group Icona Pop reached out to Tupac Shakur's mother for permission to sample the late rapper's music in one of their songs.

The I Love It hitmakers were determined to use a portion of the hip-hop star's track Me And My Girlfriend on their upcoming single Girlfriend, but wanted to make sure his mum Afeni approved.

Singer Aino Jawo explains, "We are huge Tupac fans. We made a fun twist: He was singing about his gun, and we're singing about our friendship.

"We actually had to write a letter to Tupac's mum to ask if we could use that part. We sent her the song and she liked it. We're very honoured to be able to use it...

"It was an email but we asked her personally. It makes more sense. It's a very sensitive thing. He died way too young."

The tragic hip-hop star was just 25 years old when he was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996.