This is the last photograph taken of Tupac Shakur about an hour before he was gunned down in Las Vegas in a drive-by shooting. He would die in the hospital a few days later. Shakur, who was 26 years old was a passenger in the car. The driver, Suger Knight–yes, THAT Suger Knight–was not harmed. One of the first cops who arrived on the scene had to wait until he retired in 2015 to share with the world what Tupac’s last words were. He arrived on the scene to find Knight beside himself and had to brandish his gun to get him to back off. He then pulled Tupac out of the car and asked him if he knew who shot him. Tupac looked him dead in the eye, said “F*** you”, coughed up blood and slipped into unconsciousness. He died in the hospital a few days later after falling into a coma.

Six months later, the man many hip hop fans presumed had a hand in Tupac’s death–the Nortorious B.I.G.–was killed under similar circumstances in New York. Again, many hip hop fans wrote it off as retaliation for Tupac’s murder. The problem is there’s overwhelming evidence from those who knew them that the two had no beef with each other and actually were friends. The only people who thought there was legit beef between them were rap fans who thought there was legit beef between the hip hop artists in New York and the artists in California.

Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur, who died in 2016 claimed her son was killed by law enforcement because of her status as a member of the controversial Black Panther Party. She pointed to the fact just before his death, he made music and public comments that were critical of the status quo and the criminal justice system. She also seemed to agree with those who believed Tupac and Biggie’s deaths were intended to trigger a massive gang war in New York and Los Angeles. That would then be used to force the governors of both states to institute martial law and deploy the national guard to Los Angeles and New York City in order to get the violence under control.

What spared the country that outcome was the intervention of a coalition of faith leaders and activists. The coalition got some of the biggest names in hip hop at the time from across the country together in one room and urged them to squash whatever beef they had with each other. Tensions were high nationwide and there were legit concerns there would be blood in the streets at any time. Cooler heads prevailed and the artists reluctantly accepted the reality a lot of the music they produced helped bring America to the brink of a massive gang war. That and everyone agreed a gang war would be bad for business.

About six years later, new tensions arose amid the very personal beef between Eminem and Raymond Benzino. Eminem’s friend and bandmate Proof was gunned down and Eminem was out for blood. Eminem agreed to back down after learning Benzino had nothing to do with Proof’s death and escalating things would set off a chain reaction that would destroy everything he worked for. 50 Cent and Ja Rule also squashed their beef which had also been ongoing at the time.

In the three decades since Tupac and Biggie’s deaths, the Hip Hop scene has notably become much more…mellow is the word I’ll use. It’s much more corporate and business-oriented now. The music is also far less vitriolic than its first two decades. Many point to Kanye West beating 50 Cent in overall sales back in 2007 as the day Gangsta Rap died. What mega hit of Kanye’s dropped that year?

 

This one:

…Who could have imagined 16 years later, Kanye West would be revealed to be an unapologetic antisemetic self-hating lover of Adolf Hitler?

 

Of course, Gangsta Rap didn’t go extinct. Kanye simply proved it was no longer profitable in the mainstream. Artists quickly adjusted and adapted to what was fast becoming the new normal for Hip Hop: Less vitriolic, more corporate.

 

If you ask Dionne Warwick, she’ll tell you her imfamous closed-door meeting with Snoop Dogg and Ludacris in the late 90s played a huge role in changing perceptions early on. She was outspoken about the mysogyny that was so prevalent in their music at the time. Snoop would later recount Warwick daring them to call her a bitch to her face as soon as they walked in the room. No one dared take her up on the offer because they knew they weren’t talking to someone who was just hating on their music. They were talked to a very concerned black woman who could easily pass for any of their mothers. When he asked her why she took issue with their music, Warwick responded “There’s gonna come a time when you might have daughters and nieces. When that time comes, you’re going to need to explain this to them.”

 

Warwick clearly made a breakthrough as everyone who was at that meeting started to pivot away from the more vitriolic material they were known for.  Some outright branched into other things. Ice Cube and Ice T both got into acting for example. My point is hip hop needed to change when it did for better or worse. While I wouldn’t call today’s mainstream Hip Hop “music” personally, it’s alive and well in underground and independent scenes.

 

Getting back to Tupac’s murder investigation. It’s worth noting the state of Nevada does not have a statue of limitations when it comes to homicide investigations. This is why although the case went cold fast, it was NEVER closed. Sugar Knight, who was the driver in the car Tupac was riding in has refused to answer any questions on what he knows both then and since. He imfamously stated in an interview when asked directly “I’m not getting paid to solve homicide cases.” I read somewhere a Las Vegas detective offered to help get his sentence lightened if he shared what he knew about Tupac’s killer but he declined. Knight is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for a hit and run. He will likely die in prison.

 

A man who claimed to be in the white cadillac that pulled up beside Tupac in Las Vegas appeared in a BET documentary some years ago and also wrote a book about the time period. He claimed to know who Tupac’s killer was but refused to name him saying “shots came from the backseat” and referred to “the streets’ code of silence”. Given investigators believe Tupac’s actual killer has likely since died, you can’t help but wonder why both Knight and this other guy still refuse to say anything. Said other guy is the one at the center of the renewed law enforcement investigation.

 

The only possible explaination I can think of is gives a lot of credability to the Law Enforcement conspiracy theory. That was given some credability with a fictionalized drama from about 12 years back involving a police detective investigating the lead investigators in charge of the initial murder investigation suddenly finding himself targeted for murder. The reason the Law Enforcement conspiracy theory is considered credible to many is for two reasons and both have to do with the time period. The first reasoning is he was a high-profile black man whose mother happened to have connections to the controversial Black Panther Party. The other reason is at the time, it wasn’t uncommon for a crooked cop to execute a contract killing which this was also presumed to have been.

 

But wait. Don’t investigators believe the man who pulled the trigger has since died? The question then becomes “Who ordered the hit?” THAT is the more important question Knight and the other guy likely know the answer to. My guess is the only reason Knight is still breathing now is because he cut a deal with whoever ordered the hit: In exchange for his silence, he can keep breathing. Despite being in and out and now back in prison, Knight has kept his mouth shut almost 30 years later. That tells me whoever ordered the hit is likely still alive and is keeping tabs on him and others who were involved. It also means the mastermind must be someone who wields a lot of power. Either a cop, a politician or someone with deep pockets. Otherwise we would’ve known more than we do within the last 10 years.

 

Knight’s imfamous “I’m not being paid to solve homicide cases” quote says something big if you read between the lines: He prettymuch admitted his silence was bought. It’s probably safe to say both he and the other guy will take what they know to the grave. That’s what makes this recent development so interesting. It’s been almost 30 years since Tupac’s murder. We’ll have to see if this new development is something…or nothing significant enough to blow this case wide open.

 

Updated 9/29/2023:

 

 

Duane Keith Davis aka “Keffe D” has now been indicted for the murder of Tupac Shakur.

He’s the man I eluded to above on that note. He was arrested a few weeks ago but has now been indicted. For those who might not know, the state of Nevada does not have a statue of limitations for murder cases. That’s why this case remained open for 27 years.

In a press conference in Las Vegas today, it was revealed Davis was a person of interest for some time but they didn’t have anything to move the case forward until 2018. What happened in 2018? Davis himself confessed to being involved during a series of media interviews and a tell-all book he wrote about Tupac’s death. There were four men in the cadillac involved in the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac. Three of the four men involved have since died. The remaining person? Davis himself.

During the press conference it was revealed Tupac and Knight jumped some gang members from Compton who were in a las Vegas casino a few months earlier. Davis, who ran with one of the gangs involved at the time ordered the hit as soon as he learned what happened. He then traveled to Las Vegas and personally oversaw the killing. Sugar Knight, who was driving the car Tupac was riding in was not harmed but he was the other intended target. Knight obviously found out not long afterward who ordered the hit and kept his mouth shut knowing if they didn’t hesistate to kill Tupac, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him next.

Davis was the only remaining living suspect at the time of his arrest. Had he kept his mouth shut back in 2018 and knew the case was still open, he could’ve died without ever facing justice. Davis is almost 30 years older than he was in 1996 so…yeah. He just couldn’t help himself and now he’ll likely die in prison.

 

 

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