Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, the only man ever charged in connection with the rapper’s death is now on trial. The case has been one of hip-hop’s biggest mysteries, spawning conspiracy theories and becoming deeply woven into the culture of music, fashion and film.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, a former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, faces one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the 1996 killing. Prosecutors allege Davis helped orchestrate the shooting, though he is not accused of being the gunman.
Nevada’s felony-murder and aiding-and-abetting laws allow prosecutors to hold Davis criminally responsible for Shakur’s death even if he was not the person who fired the gun, provided they prove he played a role in planning or facilitating the killing.
Here’s what we know about Shakur’s death, the case against Davis and what to expect from the trial:
Who was Tupac Shakur?
Tupac Shakur, born in 1971 in East Harlem, New York, was raised by parents who were members of the Black Panther Party. Their political activism helped shape Shakur’s own political consciousness which later became a recurring theme across his music. At 17, he moved to the west coast, where he began his music career with the group Digital Underground before launching his solo career in Los Angeles.
In 1991, Shakur released his breakout solo album 2Pacalypse Now followed by Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…, Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me. His music often explored social injustice, police brutality, gang violence and empowerment, with major hits including Keep Ya Head Up, Changes, California Love, Dear Mama and How Do U Want It.
Shakur also appeared in several films including Juice, Poetic Justice and Above the Rim. His rivalry with fellow rapper The Notorious BIG, or Christopher Wallace, became central to the infamous east coast-west coast hip-hop feud of the 1990s. Despite his death at 25, Shakur became one of the genre’s most iconic figures, selling more than 75m records worldwide and continuing to influence music and popular culture.
What happened on the night of his murder?
On 7 September 1996, Shakur attended a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand casino and hotel in Las Vegas with Marion “Suge” Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records. After the fight, Shakur and Knight became involved in a confrontation with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’s nephew and a member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Later that night, as Shakur and Knight were driving along the Las Vegas Strip, a white Cadillac pulled alongside their BMW and shots were fired from the backseat. Shakur was struck four times by bullets fired from a .40-caliber Glock 22 and was taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. He died six days later on 13 September 1996.
Who is Duane 'Keffe D' Davis and why is he on trial now?
Davis is the only man to stand trial in connection with Shakur’s murder. He was in the white Cadillac and, according to interviews and his 2019 tell-all memoir, Compton Street Legend, was sitting in the front passenger seat alongside three other men, all of whom have since died. Davis has said he obtained the handgun and handed it to Anderson, who was also in the car, but he has never admitted to being the shooter or identified who fired the shots.
Davis became a central figure in the case after publicly discussing his involvement in interviews and in his memoir. He wrote that he had devised a plan to track down Shakur, Knight and other Death Row Records associates and said he brought a .40-caliber Glock with him in the car.
“The next few seconds all happened so quickly,” Davis wrote, recalling the moment his group encountered Shakur and his entourage.
“No words were exchanged, the time for talking had passed, the shit was on! … One of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back,” he continued.
“Them jumping on my nephew gave us the green light to want to do something to their ass. Pac chose the wrong game to play,” he added.
His public statements and accounts of the shooting helped put him back at the center of the investigation, ultimately leading to his arrest and indictment in 2023. Davis has pleaded not guilty.
Marc DiGiacomo, chief deputy district attorney in Clark county, Nevada said: “Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime.”
