Twenty-seven years after the infamous drive-by shooting in Las Vegas and killing of Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keefe D” Davis has been charged with murder for Shakur’s 1996 death.
Being one of hip-hop’s most revolutionary artists and actors, Shakur had more than just California’s love with fans from around the U.S.
Shakur dropped discord, experience and truth into the mic as he reinvented the rap game while facing off in-studio and in the streets of Compton through gang activity.
The Bloods, iconic for their rivalry with the Crips, had several stems of smaller gangs, such as the Mob Piru Bloods.
Belonging to Death Row Records, Shakur was entwined in the Mob Piru’s activities, alongside another iconic ‘90s rapper, Marion “Suge” Knight, who was injured in the same shooting that left Shakur dead.
Just before his murder in 1996, Shakur released his iconic diss track “Hit ‘Em Up.”
The single put various people on blast including Death Row Records’ leading competitor Bad Boy Records, its manager Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and former friend Christopher Wallace — better known as the Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls.
The West Coast and East Coast war only heated up as diss tracks sparked violence in the streets between gang members.
Following Shakur’s death, many fingers pointed toward the Crips and its iconic members Wallace, Combs and Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson — nephew of the now alleged murderer, Davis.
The public’s attention intensified with the drive-by murder of Wallace in 1997. Making matters worse for the investigation — Anderson, who had been the lead suspect for Shakur’s murder, was shot and killed in 1998.
Within years of their deaths, documentaries were released and gained massive attention. Each documentary offered new insight, but more interestingly, Davis appeared in several documentaries.
According to Channel 3 News, a recorded alleged confession by Davis about his whereabouts when Shakur was shot — claiming he provided the gun to his nephew — was obtained in 2009 by police and was later used in the 2015 documentary, “Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders.”
Davis appeared in two 2018 series, speaking openly about his involvement and was portrayed in a Netflix docudrama “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.” that same year.
In a 2019 interview, Davis said he felt “robbed” of his story by Netflix’s retelling and said the docudrama was fake and considered suing.
That same year, while the case was still under open investigation, Davis published a memoir in which he graphically detailed the events during the shootout and expressed deep remorse.
The most incremental piece of attraction from Davis’ book was that he again admitted to being in the white Cadillac that bullets were shot from and fatally wounded Shakur then passed the murder weapon to his nephew.
This past July, Davis’ Las Vegas home was searched under warrant. Laptops, bullets, photographs, documents and even Davis’ memoirs were seized as evidence.
The most recent development since Davis’ arrest is that Knight, one of the last few remaining key witnesses, told TMZ he will not testify against Davis. Bodycam footage of Davis’ arrest has also since been released.
Pay homage to the greatest rapper to have ever lived and sit back and listen to his arguably best album, “All Eyez On Me,” as all eyes now fall to the courts.
Davis first appeared in court Oct. 4 for a pre-arraignment hearing, but after he requested a continuance for two weeks on behalf of his attorney, he will next appear in court Oct. 19.
