21 years have already passed since the murder of the legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur, known under the pseudonyms Makaveli and 2Pac. To this day, he remains the first person in the hip-hop world to be appreciated and respected.
In the years of his active career, he was the best. His texts penetrated the heart of every African American who knew the difficult history of his people. Social inequality, bureaucracy, racism and corruption - these were the rapper's favorite topics that he raised in his work.
Even now, Tupac has his own fans and fans, because he created unique music that will always wait for his target audience. Now many fans don’t know who killed Tupac, however, how and for what … In this article, we will analyze everything in detail.
Short biography of the rapper
At birth (June 16, 1971), his name was Lesane Perig Crookes, and a year later his parents renamed him in honor of the South American revolutionary Tupac Amaru II, who launched a struggle with the Spanish colonial power in Peru in the XVIII century. Apparently in this way the rapper was told the fate of the opposition and the eternal fighter for justice. However, few people know that almost all members of the Shakurov family were members of African-American left-wing radical organizations (the most famous of them are Black Panthers), fighting for the freedom of their people. From an early age, the mother introduced her son to family ideology, and he joined the Panthers. Fans and fans know that the rapper’s left shoulder was tattooed with a black panther.
About how Tupak Shakur was killed, is known or heard by everyone who is somehow familiar with the words “rap” and “hip-hop”. During the years of the rapper's active career (1987-1996), a real war broke out between the representatives of the West and East coasts in the states. The east was ruled by rapper The Notorious BIG, known under the pseudonyms Biggie and Biggie Smalls (you see his photo below), and to the west - Tupac Shakur. These were the kings of rap, always competing with each other.
They experienced real hatred towards each other and did not miss a single moment to quarrel publicly and throw a couple of insults at each other. About half a century will argue about who killed Tupak Shakur, because no one except themselves knows the real truth of all these rapper upheavals. There are simply a number of obvious facts on the basis of which history is written. So, let's start?
Who killed Tupac Shakur?
On September 7, 1996, American hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur was mortally wounded in his own car in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shooting began at 11:15 p.m. local time (Pacific Standard Time) when the black BMW Shakur stopped at a red traffic light at the intersection of East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Driving the car was Sug Knight, a friend and producer of Tupac. At the same time, the white Cadillac caught up with the car, from which the hand of an unknown person stuck out and the firing started. The rapper received 4 injuries (two bullets in the stomach, one in the arm and one in the thigh), and the driver Sug Knight escaped with minor scratches from the broken glass of the car. Shakur died after 6 days spent in surgery.
In the process of saving the rapper's life, doctors came to the decision that it was necessary to remove the right lung, into which one of the bullets ricocheted. The operation was performed at the Medical Center of the University of Southern Nevada. After that, Tupac passed away. In a documentary called Murder Rap, which discusses Shakur’s murder, former investigator Greg Casing talks about who killed Tupac. Orlando Anderson, nicknamed Keffe D (his photo see below), who shortly before that had a personal conflict with Tupac, was recognized as the official killer.
Why was he killed? Tupac Shakur was recognized as an icon of world rap in his 25 years. Along with this, the rapper had many envious and haters. Therefore, many simply dreamed of killing him so that they could sell their rap. The story of the conflict with Orlando Anderson is a commonplace reason for his murder.
How it was? Events before the execution
Tupac Shakur and Sug Knight went to Las Vegas for the upcoming boxing fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon. By the way, the rapper maintained friendly relations with the “Iron Mike” and often attended his boxing fights. After the battle, which ended with Tyson's early victory, one of Knight's associates noticed that Orlando Anderson (also known as Baby Lane and Keffi D), a member of a criminal group called Crips from Compton, California, was present in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel. The fact is that a year earlier, Anderson robbed and severely beat one of the members of Death Row's entourage in the Foot Locker store (according to one version, it was Makaveli's personal bodyguard).
A few minutes later, one of Knight's comrades informed him that Tupac had attacked Anderson. During the conflict, Shakur shouted obscene words and asked about the incident a year ago, moreover, the rapper hit Orlando Anderson. Shakur's bodyguards followed him and eventually helped beat a member of the Crips gang. All these events were recorded on a surveillance camera in the lobby of MGM Grand. The skirmish was eliminated by the hotel security.
On the way to the night club
After the fight, Shakur and Knight went with their gang to the club “662” (currently a restaurant called Seven), which Shug rented for the evening. One of Tupak's bodyguards suggested that he go with him in the car, to which the rapper replied that when they returned from the club, many would be drunk, so you had to go in two cars to get everyone home. Producer Knight and rapper Shakur himself rode their BMW 750i. The bodyguards rode in their cars behind. At about 22:55 local time, the car stopped at a traffic light and Shakur lowered the passenger window to allow the fan to take a picture with him. Further, in the interval between 23:00 and 23:05, the black BMW was stopped by the patrol police - the reason was loud music at a later time. Police also asked why there were no license plates on the car, to which they replied that the numbers were in the trunk. In the course of a short conversation, the police released them without drawing up protocols and a fine.
The last minutes before the murder
At 23:10, Shakur's car stopped at the next traffic light, at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Cowal Lane, not far from a hotel called Maxim. Makaveli leaned out into the top hatch of the car and addressed the two girls walking nearby. The rapper invited ladies to a nightclub. After 5 minutes, a white Cadillac drove up to the black BMW and braked in front of the Tupac car on the right side. After a moment, the windows of the white car went down, shooting began at the rapper’s car … The attackers quickly disappeared from the place where they killed Tupac. Nearby a passing patrol convoy followed the shooters, but they failed to detain the criminals.
Shot
Upon arrival of the ambulance, the rapper was immediately sent to the hospital. 2Pac was unconscious and barely breathing. I had to use an artificial respiration system. The condition was so critical that the doctors came up with a desperate decision - to introduce Shakur into an artificial coma. For six days, Makaveli struggled with life. He died after surgery to remove the right lung on September 13 at 16:03. The official cause of death is breath holding and the complete cessation of the effective functioning of the heart. Tupac Shakur's body was cremated. According to participants in the organization Death Row, they smoked part of the dust of Makaweli, mixing it with marijuana.
The murder of Tupac Shakur: who killed?
Chuck Philips is a journalist for a well-known newspaper called the Los Angeles Times, confident that he knows about the mysterious murder of gangsta rapper 2Pac. He says that Shakur was shot by Orlando Anderson, who wanted to avenge a fight at the MGM Grand. The journalist also notes that the weapons for the killing were provided by Christopher Wallace himself, an East Coast rapper nicknamed Notorious BIG.
That day, after Orlando Anderson was beaten by the Makaweli gang, he went to the rescue of the elder, where during the meeting it was decided to destroy Shakur and earn some good money on it. The fact is that on the same day Notorious BIG was in Los Angeles himself. Having learned about the conflict, the king of the West Side offered a million dollars for the murder of Tupac Shakur and promised to provide his weapons for this - Makaveli was shot precisely from the Notorius pistol.
An hour later, the mission was completed. Biggie Smalls awarded the bandits with their first payout of fifty thousand dollars. As for how Notorius paid further, nothing is known. In 1997, the same fate awaited him: he was shot dead in his own car under almost the same circumstances. In 1998, Orlando Anderson himself was killed in exactly the same way.
