The question of who killed Tupac Shakur is one that has fuelled speculation for close to 30 years.
The tragic event solidified the rapper as a pop culture legend, and it seemed destined to go down as one of the great unanswered questions in showbiz history.
But that might now all change as on August 10, the jury selection began for the trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, who was shockingly charged with murder in September 2023.
The former gang member, now 63, has pleaded not guilty and will now stand trial in Las Vegas accused of murder with a deadly weapon – if found guilty, he could face life imprisonment without parole.
The impending trial is bound to reexamine the violent rap rivalry of the East Coast and West Coast street gangs that dominated the genre and headlines in the 1990s, with many individuals and artists involved likely to take the stand.
The big question is: why now, after so many theories and speculation, have we finally got a murder trial?
Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was shot at the age of 25 on September 7, 1996 at the height of his fame. He died from his injuries a few days later on September 13.
On September 7, Shakur had been attending the Bruce Seldon vs Mike Tyson boxing match with ex-CEO of Death Row Records Suge Knight at the MGM Grand in Nevada.
Later that night, when they were driving as part of a convoy in a black BMW sedan, a white Cadillac pulled up alongside the car and opened fire. Shakur was struck four times.
Earlier that evening, surveillance footage had captured Shakur and members of his entourage, who were believed to be members of the Mob Piru Bloods street gang, attacking Orlando Anderson, who was allegedly a member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Anderson was questioned and denied involvement, and was later killed in a separate shooting in 1998.
For years, any leads in the case struggled to gain traction due to a lack of evidence and witnesses.
Anderson himself has long been speculated to have been the man who fired the gun, but with no evidence to go on or witness statements, the case simply stalled.
That was until Duane Davis, Anderson’s uncle, revealed new information years later that put him at the focus of one of the most infamous unsolved cases of the 20th century.
You can trace how Davis became of interest to the Los Angeles Police Department to another infamous case in the world of rap – the murder of Biggie Smalls (the Notorious BIG).
