Tupac Shakur

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Lore & Background

Tupac Shakur's career was marked by significant legal troubles and industry feuds. In 1993, he faced charges for shooting two off-duty police officers, though they were dropped. He was later convicted of sexual abuse in 1994, serving eight months before his release pending appeal in 1995. Upon release, he signed with Suge Knight's Death Row Records, entering the peak of the East Coast–West Coast feud. This rivalry intensified after Shakur was shot in November 1994 at a building where The Notorious B.I.G. was recording; Shakur accused B.I.G. and Sean Combs of prior knowledge. The conflict escalated with Biggie's "Who Shot Ya?" and Knight's insults at the 1995 Source Awards. In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up," described by reporter Chuck Philips as a "caustic anti-East Coast jihad" threatening to eliminate B.I.G., Combs, and Bad Boy artists, marking a point of no return in hip-hop history.

In Their Own Story

On September 7, 1996, Tupac attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match with Death Row Records head Suge Knight at Las Vegas's MGM Grand. After leaving, Trevon "Tre" Lane spotted Orlando Anderson of the South Side Compton Crips in the lobby, reminding Shakur of an earlier incident where Anderson had attempted to steal Lane's medallion. Shakur confronted Anderson, asking if he was from the "South," then punched him down before his entourage joined the assault captured on surveillance. Later that night at 11:00 p.m., police stopped Knight's BMW for loud music and missing plates, releasing them minutes later. At 11:15 p.m., while stopped at a red light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a white Cadillac pulled up. A shooter in the back seat fired four rounds from a .40-caliber Glock 22, hitting Tupac twice in the chest, once in the arm, and once in the thigh; Knight was grazed by fragmentation. Despite a flat tire and injuries, Knight drove a mile to Las Vegas Boulevard where paramedics arrived. Shakur, carried into the hospital saying he was dying, refused to identify his shooters, telling officer Chris Carroll "fuck you" as his last words before succumbing to respiratory failure on September 13.

Reader's Guide

Tupac Shakur's final night began at the MGM Grand boxing match with Suge Knight. After a violent confrontation with Orlando Anderson in the lobby, Tupac changed clothes and left for Club 662. Minutes before the shooting, his friend Leonard Jefferson captured one of the last known images of him in Knight's vehicle. At 11:00 p.m., police stopped them for loud music; plates were found in the trunk, and they were released without citation. Five minutes later at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a white Cadillac pulled alongside. A shooter fired four .40 S&W rounds from a Glock 22, striking Tupac twice in the chest, once in the arm, and once in the thigh; one bullet pierced his right lung while Knight suffered head fragmentation. Knight drove them to Las Vegas Boulevard where paramedics were called. At University Medical Center, Tupac was placed on life support, induced into a coma after trying to leave bed, and briefly regained consciousness when girlfriend Kidada Jones played "Vincent." He died of respiratory failure leading to cardiac arrest at 4:03 p.m. on September 13, 1996, after his mother Afeni Shakur decided to cease treatment.

Did You Know?

• Shakur was struck by four rounds: two in the chest, one in the arm, and one in the thigh.
• Suge Knight was grazed by a bullet fragment in the head during the shooting.
• Tupac's last words to officer Chris Carroll were "fuck you" when asked if he saw his shooters.
• Orlando Anderson, suspected in the murder, denied involvement and was never charged before being killed in 1998.
• Duane "Keefe D" Davis was arrested on September 29, 2023, for Tupac's first-degree murder.