Rabat – Nearly three decades after Tupac Shakur was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting, the long-running murder case is finally heading to trial.
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the former gang leader charged in connection with Shakur’s September 1996 killing.
Opening arguments are expected to begin on August 17.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon, with prosecutors alleging the killing was committed with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang.
If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole.
The trial could bring renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding one of the most famous unsolved killings in music history, including the street rivalries and tensions that shaped the world around Shakur in the 1990s.
It could also feature several high-profile witnesses, including Suge Knight, the former head of Death Row Records, who was in the car with Shakur when the shooting occurred.
At the center of the prosecution’s case is evidence linked to a book Davis co-authored about his life.
Davis has argued that parts of the book were fictionalized, making the extent to which prosecutors can rely on it a potentially critical issue at trial.
Why the case took nearly three decades to reach court
Shakur was killed on September 7, 1996, after attending a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with Knight.
Earlier that night, surveillance footage showed Shakur and members of his entourage attacking Orlando Anderson, an alleged member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Roughly three hours later, Shakur and Knight were driving through Las Vegas in Knight’s BMW when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them and opened fire.
Shakur was struck four times. He died six days later, on September 13, at the age of 25.
For years, the investigation produced theories and speculation but no arrest. That changed in 2023, when Davis was charged with Shakur’s murder.
Prosecutors have described Davis as a key figure in the events surrounding the shooting. Davis has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty.
A case rooted in 1990s hip-hop rivalries
To understand why Shakur’s death became so deeply embedded in popular culture, the case has to be viewed against the backdrop of 1990s hip-hop.
At the time, the genre was divided by a highly publicized East Coast-West Coast rivalry, with Death Row Records on the West Coast and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records representing two of its most prominent opposing forces.
The rivalry extended beyond record sales and music. Personal disputes, street affiliations and gang conflicts increasingly became intertwined with the culture surrounding some of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
The Bloods and Crips, whose rivalry had deep roots in Los Angeles, were also closely associated with the world surrounding West Coast rap.
Shakur himself occupied a complicated position within that landscape.
Although he was born in New York City, he moved to Northern California as a teenager and later became one of the defining voices of West Coast hip-hop after joining Death Row Records, alongside artists including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Tupac’s legacy went beyond gangsta rap
The story of Tupac Shakur was never limited to his image as a gangsta rapper.
His mother, Afeni Shakur, was a member of the Black Panther Party, and Tupac grew up surrounded by political activism and the Black liberation movement.
Those influences became part of his music, with his lyrics frequently addressing poverty, racism, violence and inequality.
He also established a career outside music, appearing in several Hollywood films and becoming one of the most recognizable entertainers of his generation.
His 1996 album “All Eyez on Me,” released only months before his death, became a defining record of his career and helped cement his status as one of hip-hop’s most influential figures.
His death, however, elevated that influence into something larger.
At just 25, Shakur became a cultural icon whose music, image and life have continued to generate discussion nearly 30 years later.
Now, with Davis’s trial underway, one of hip-hop’s most persistent mysteries is moving from decades of speculation into a courtroom.
The proceedings could shed new light on the events that led to Shakur’s death — and on the rivalries, alliances and street conflicts that surrounded one of the most consequential figures in hip-hop history.
