If there is a narrative analogy in the universe of rap to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it would be the shooting that ended Tupac Shakur's life in September 1996. A crime that remains unresolved at its core and has generated as much speculation as interest.
A representative of gangsta rap, Shakur was a complex figure. After his breakthrough in the early 90s, he became one of the key figures in West Coast hip hop with the success of albums like the celebrated Me Against the World (1995). He also tried his luck as an actor but was also involved in shootings, fights, and even had a conviction for sexual abuse.
Tupac was shot on the night of September 7, 1996. He had attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden when a Cadillac stopped next to the BMW he was traveling in and received four gunshots; two bullets hit his chest, one hit an arm, and another hit a thigh. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Las Vegas where he died days later.
"Tupac Shakur, rapper and actor whose career was built on controversy, died yesterday from wounds suffered in a shooting from a vehicle last Saturday. He was 25 years old," reported the New York Times in a note that was the cover story on September 14, 1996. "Shakur, a resident of Los Angeles, was in critical condition at the University Medical Center of Las Vegas since Saturday. That night, upon leaving the club..."
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If there were a narrative analogy in the universe of rap to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it would be the shooting that ended Tupac Shakur's life in September 1996. A crime that remains unresolved at its core and has generated as much speculation as interest. A representative of gangsta rap, Shakur was a complex figure. After his breakthrough in the early 90s, he became one of the key figures in West Coast hip hop with successful albums like the celebrated Me Against the World (1995). He also tried his luck as an actor but was also involved in shootings, fights, and even had a conviction for sexual abuse. Tupac was shot on the night of September 7, 1996. He had attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand Garden when a Cadillac stopped next to the BMW he was traveling in and received four shots; two bullets hit his chest, one in an arm, and another in a thigh. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Las Vegas where he died days later. Tupac Shakur, "rapper and actor whose career was built on controversy, died yesterday from wounds suffered in a shooting from a vehicle last Saturday. He was 25 years old," reported the New York Times in a note that was the cover story on September 14, 1996. "Shakur, a resident of Los Angeles, was in critical condition at the University Medical Center of Las Vegas since Saturday. That night, after leaving the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon, a Cadillac stopped next to the BMW he was traveling in and received four shots. On Sunday, his right lung was removed. No arrests have been made." Nearly 30 years after the event, a person will face charges before the justice system. It is Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang, who from this Monday appears before a court in Las Vegas. The prosecution will try to prove that he ordered the murder and provided the weapon used to kill Shakur. Of the four individuals in the Cadillac from which the shots against Tupac were fired, the only one still alive is precisely Davis. For years, there were no major developments in the case, but everything reopened in 2019 following the publication of Compton Street Legend, Davis's memoirs. "Keffe D" recounts in the text that he was in the front seat of the Cadillac that night and that he handed a gun, a Glock .40 caliber, to those in the back seat. However, he does not specify who shot at Shakur. Based on those statements and others previously given to the press, Davis was detained and imprisoned in 2023. Since then, he insists on his innocence and has repeatedly emphasized that he did not pull the trigger that night. "I am innocent. I haven't killed anyone. I've never killed anyone," he told ABC News last March. "They have no evidence against me. They can't even arrest me in Las Vegas." Tupac Shakur Davis, 63 years old, claims not to fully know the details of his memoirs and blames co-author Yusuf Jah for exaggerating details for commercial purposes. "I just gave him details of my life. And he went on to investigate and wrote the book on his own," he commented. What he did admit, at least in the book, is that the whole mess originated as revenge. According to those pages and earlier press notes, it happened that Tupac, along with Marion "Suge" Knight, the founder of Death Row Records, crossed paths at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas with Orlando Anderson, Davis's nephew and a member of the Crips gang. Both attacked and beat Anderson because of a previous altercation in which he, along with other gang members, attacked a Death Row worker. The matter is more complex because Knight, for his protection, relied on the services of the Mob Piru gang, rivals of the Crips, who in turn did the same for Bad Boy Records, Death Row's competitor. In sum, Davis would have acted out of revenge. The book details how they decided to act, obtained the weapon, and then got into the Cadillac to find and attack Tupac. According to prosecutors, Anderson, Deandrae Smith, Terrence Brown, and "Keffe D" himself were on board the vehicle. "Tupac made a reckless move and started to reach under his seat," he recounts in his memoirs. "Pac pulled out a gun, and that's when the shooting started. One of my men in the back seat grabbed the Glock and started shooting." In 2018, during a talk with BET's Death Row Chronicles program, he said that the shots came from the person sitting in the back of the vehicle. "I'm going to keep it for the street code," he said. "He just got out of the back seat, brother." The process began this Monday with jury selection, expected to last a week. The trial is estimated to last about a month before a verdict is reached. NEWSLETTERCultoWednesday, AMSeries, books, music, and movies that are on everyone's lips. The pop guide to enter conversations of the moment with style. By subscribing, you accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.