After three long decades and what seemed to be a case that would never be solved, an arrest has been made for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Tupac starred in many movies including Juice, Poetic Justice, Above the Rim, and Gridlock’d. His music, however, was what he was truly remembered for. Tupac’s music shed light on issues that the rest of the world ignored. One of the most notable themes in his song, “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, paints a lyrical picture of challenges young teen mothers face in their lives. Some other themes he includes in his music are the idea of life and death in “Life Goes On”; love and hate in “Hail Mary”; social issues and inequality in “Changes”; and positivity and empowerment in “Keep Your Head Up”. With his lyrical pictures of justice and the reality of life, he quickly gained a large following. This spike in interest caused his second album, Strictly, to peak at number 24 on the Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart. Successful singles from this album include a party song, “I Get Around” and his song for struggling women, “Keep Ya Head Up”.
2pac learned how to appeal with his revolutionary mind, with charismatic personality with unapologetic threat with his childhood so let’s start on that. 2pac was born in East Harlem, New York. at the age of one he was renamed to Tupac Amaru Shakur, he was named after the Tupac Amaru II the last Incan ruler who revolted against the Spanish rule. Growing up 2pac was in the gutter he was always growing up in poverty moving from state to state, his Mother Afini Shakur was part of the black panther party, which the government kept a close eye on, there was always FBI agents watching the family of 2. He always felt like himself being on stage and writing poetry. His mother showed him ways to think outside the box which later made him a political figure and a public speaker in his music. One big thing his mother showed him was to trust no one even your close friends which he later used in 1994 to his death. The streets showed him different ways of thinking and output on life and his music. He learned to not trust cops from his mother. In his free time, he would rap and wright poetry.The outlawz play a big rule in 2pac’s life from the beginning to the end. On September 26, 1994, 2pac made a album not under his name it was called thug life with brand new rappers who grew up with 2pac, with a hit song being “how long will they morn me”, which he was inspired to write about his mentor’s untimely fate. In 1995 the group formed by 2pac after being released from prison, the outlawz, originally named Outlawz Immortalz, the crew was made up of his half-brother Mopreme, Kastro, Yaki Kadafi, Hussein Fatal, Napoleon, Moozaliny (big Syke), Storm, E.D.I. Mean, young Noble, they were nicknamed after famed resistance leaders exept Storm and Young Noble. When 2pac was sadly shot in 96 that led to his death, they took shifts watching over him when he was getting treated in the hospital for the second time so nothing could happen to him when he was recovering. It hit the outlawz hard when he passed including Storm the most, she fell into depression over the death because he was a father figure to her teaching her everything he could when he was around. She got a tattoo with the outlawz to remember him. It’s a picture of 2pac with the words saying thug angel at the bottom.
In November 1994, Tupac’s life changed when he was shot during a robbery set up by The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Jimmy Henchman. He was rushed to the hospital, but, fearing for his safety, he checked himself out less than 24 hours after he was admitted. This traumatic event inspired him to make the 1995 album, Me Against the World, in which he shared his thoughts about the attack and the court cases that followed, Soon after he was sent to jail. The album was made while he was in jail. One of the songs from this album, “Dear Mama,” was a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur, and was later added to the National Recording Registry in 2010 by the US Library of Congress. This was the first time a rap recording earned this honor.

In 1996, Tupac signed to Death Row Records so that he could be released from prison early. He only spent 11 months in jail. In this same year he released All Eyez on Me, which was his most successful album, selling over 9 million copies in the first week. He made this album in 13 days of being out of jail. On this album he truly accepted what the world labeled him as. This was the first ever rap album that had two CDS and records. On the album there was the song, “California Love”, which reached number one on the Billboard’s Hot 100 for two weeks and was later made into a single. Also in 1996, Tupac released the track, “Hit Em Up,” which contains vicious insults to East Coast rappers, like The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, and groups, like Junior M.A.F.I.A., Chino XL, Lil’ Cease, and Lil’ Kim. “Hit Em Up” played a large role in escalating tension in the East Coast vs West Coast rapper’s rivalry, as Tupac brought attention to Biggie, Puffy, and Mob Deep for the shooting they set up in 1994, and mocking them for not getting him the first time.

Leading up to his next album, Tupac studied philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, and picked up the message that “it is better for a leader to be both loved and feared, but if he or she has to choose, it is better to be feared”. This greatly influenced his attitude and opinions, as well as his alias, Makaveli. The last album to be made before his death was released after his untimely demise. This album, The Don Killuminadi – 7 Day Theory was the name of his final album, he made the album in less than 3 days producing it and rapping it, it turned into 7 days because all the music samples he kept getting. Let’s talk about the cover art of it, it depicts 2pac being crucified for his sins and symbolizing how he felt persecuted by the media. The theme dwells with conspiracy, betrayal, and existential reflections. This is one of the darkest albums with his meaning behind it. The album has songs like “bomb first (my second reply)”, and “against all odds” both being diss track songs, then his songs with deeper meaning like “hail Mary”, “blasphemy”, “to live and die in L.A.”, “life of an outlaw”, “Krazy”, “Me and my Girlfriend”, and “hold ya head”. The songs are haunting knowing he died before it was released with the meanings of the songs and how he remixed and produced it.
All was going well for Tupac, when tragically, on September 7, 1996, he was shot again in a drive-by after leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand. Six days later, Tupac died of respiratory failure, at the age of 25. Just six months later, in March 1997, The Notorious B.I.G., was shot dead by a hit that Suge Knight. It was determined this was in retaliation for Tupac’s murder.
Over the last three decades, Tupac’s murder has remained a mystery. Tupac’s case saw a breakthrough on July 17, 2023, when Las Vegas police conducted a court authorized search of Duane Keith Davis (also known as Keefe D), who was one of the only eyewitnesses of the shooting. The police raided his house, seizing all hard drives and magazine articles about Tupac’s death. Soon after, Davis was indicted with one count of open murder with the use of a deadly weapon and with a gang enhancement. On December 19, 2023, Keefe D’s lawyer asked for him to be released to house arrest while more evidence was being gathered.
Many people say that Puff Daddy set up the murder, as well as the attempt in 1994. On January 11, 2024, new evidence was released containing recordings of Puff Daddy admitting to setting up the murder. Keefe D claimed that Puff Daddy offered him one million dollars to kill Tupac and Suge Knight and that this private order specifically said to get rid of the two men for good. Keefe D, however, was never given the money after the murder. He also stated in the clip, “Puffy was scared of the dude, period”. This may possibly be because of the threat Tupac had on Puff Daddy’s record sales. As of now, Keefe D maintains that he is not guilty of murder.As of right now September 10th 2024, there has been no updates on the case.
Despite Tupac’s short career, lasting only five years and producing just four albums, he still made a huge impact on people around the world. We can only hope that justice will finally be served for Tupac Shakur, and his legacy will live on forever through his music.