There’s all the motive in the world for the Death Row takeover theory. ibid.
One last theory remains that hinges on a letter obtained by independent investigator R J Bond: ‘the confession letter’ … crumbling under its own weight. ibid.
From iconic shots to private moments these are Tupac Shakur’s defining moments, revealed by those who were there and those who know his story best. Tupac Shakur: A Life in Ten Pictures, BBC 2021
Tupac Shakur was born on 16th June 1971 in New York City. He was raised by his mother Afeni. When this photo was taken, Afeni had recently been acquitted in a legal case. She was one of a group of Black Panthers charged with conspiracy to bomb public places. Held for a year, when the case came to court, she defended herself, and was released. Afeni raised Tupac and his younger sister in the New York outer boroughs. ibid.
Throughout his childhood, Tupac was tutored by his mother in Black history and the Civil Rights movement. ibid.
When Tupac arrived on the [rap] scene, he bought street poetry with a social conscience. ibid.
Launched in 1994, Thug Life was not just an album, it was a manifesto for a whole way of life. It rooted Tupac and his work in the gang culture of Los Angeles. ibid.
Tupac maintained the case was a set-up. He was cleared of six of the charges but found guilty of three counts of sexual abuse. ibid.
Tupac’s first album for Death Row went five times platinum. Its success made front page news. ibid.
There are many theories about who shot Tupac and why. To this day no-one has been convicted. ibid.
I am the real loser here. And I’m concerned about your sincerity to repay $27,942 gambling debt that is one week overdue. Gang Related 1997 starring James Belushi & Tupac Shakur & Dennis Quaid & Lela Rochon & James Earl Jones & David Paymer & Wendy Crewson et al, director Jim Kouf, loan shark to Jake (Shakur), with Mr Cutlass Supreme
It could be gang-related. Happened some time last night. Two, three o’clock in the morning. ibid. rozzer to Jake
Everybody needs protection. Especially a guy like you who lives on the street. ibid. Frank to Joe the tramp
They’re all garbage. There’s nothing wrong with taking out the garbage. ibid. Frank to Jake
Once loyalty’s broken, baby, you can never get it back. ibid. Frank
In Memory of Tupac Shakur 1971-1996. ibid.
On January 29 2015 music executive Terry Carter was murdered. Suge Knight charged with murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run. Nick Broomfield, Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie and Tupac, captions, BBC 2021
Suge Knight’s sentencing to 28 years signalled the end to his power, the end of his empire. People now no longer as intimidated since Suge’s incarceration started talking more freely about Suge’s being the shadow behind Biggie Smalls’ and Tupac Shakur’s murders … victims of the gang war that Suge had initiated. ibid.
Death Row had the money to throw the most lavish celebrity parties in Beverly Hills. ibid.
‘Suge was just two-faced. He was two-faced and really wasn’t a man of his word … He set me up to be beat up …’ ibid. Simone Green, Death Row records photographer
They and other members of the police department controlled the streets with a reign of terror. ibid.
It’s hard to equate the image that Tupac presented at Death Row with the young idealistic politically motivated Tupac, the son of a Black Panther. ibid.
Biggie Smalls took Puffy’s [Combs] side on the east coast; Snoop, Tupac and Dr Dre supported Suge Knight on the west coast, Death Row records. ibid.
On the night of the fatal shooting, Tupac to prove his gang loyalty took on a Crip gunman called Orlando Anderson. ibid.
It was this war that Suge Knight had with Puffy Combs that cost so many lives. ibid.
After Tupac’s death a major gang war breaks out between the Bloods and the Crips. ibid.
‘Tupac made the hardest records ever to do that people were afraid to touch.’ Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World III: Culture Wars, BBC 2023
I think that Tupac was the trendsetter, the high mark. What we hope his music will continue to do is to at least encourage people away from mediocrity, because he was not a mediocre artist. When he was alive, people competed. There was a lot of competition, and a lot of the artists were better for it. Afeni Shakur, mother
People can like him or not like him individually. But I need for them to know that he was a person of substance, and he was worthy, and he was a good son and a good brother and a good participant in the community. Afeni Shakur
The former gang leader, Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, has been charged with the 1996 murder of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. The hip-hop legend, shot four times at the age of 25, has had his tragic story captivating the world for years.
Described as a revenge plot, and a drive-by shooting which shook the music world to its core. Davis, described as the ‘on-ground commander’, allegedly orchestrated the hit after his nephew tussled with Shakur.
It’s a tale of vendettas and street justice that’s Hollywood-worthy. After years of relentless pursuit, Nevada’s grand jury finally dropped the bombshell indictment. Officer Jason Johansson spilled the beans on the breakthrough, revealing a casino scuffle caught on tape as the catalyst. It was a fight that escalated into the cold-blooded murder we’ve been trying to unravel for over two decades. Fozzie tweet 30th September 2023
The night Tupac Shakur was shot … As the night unfolds tensions runs high inside and outside the arena … At 11.15 p.m. Tupac and Suge Knight are alone in Tupac’s black BNM on their way to a party at Suge’s club. They’re stopped at a red light on the Las Vegas strip when a white Cadillac pulls up alongside … Gunshots ring out, 13 in total. True Crime Recaps: The Night Tupac Shakur Was Shot! Is the Case Finally Solved? Youtube 9.39, 2023
Police say Orlando Anderson’s uncle, Duane Keefe D Davis, was masterminding the murder. ibid.