It really irks me to read this kind of stuff, that of course being people associating Tupac Shakur's death with gang relations or that it had something to do with an East Coast/West Coast rivalry fueled by Tupac and New York based rapper Notorious B.I.G.. Fact is, the death of Tupac Shakur was never solved. Shy of leads, the Las Vegas Police Department have pretty much given up on the case altogether. Of course there have been numerous theories created from Tupac's death, some more incredulous than others.
Here are some of the more popular theories that can be seen circling around on various Tupac fansites.
- The first, and probably one of the most renowned theories involved with Tupac's death is that it was all staged. That's right, many believe he faked his own death. Why? There's a multitude of answers; some say he did it for the cash. Others would argue he staged his death to "throw off his adversaries." You have to remember, before his death he was recieving a large share of death threats. If you knew Tupac and his music, he didn't settle to well with a lot of people. Simply for the fact he had a big mouth, and wasn't shy of letting his opinions be heard. In an MTV interview he even commented on his mouth, laughing about how it "always seemed to get him into some trouble." After faking his death there was a supposed "seven year wait" before Tupac's resurrection where he would resurface into the public eye. Supposedly Tupac would have returned in 2003. Wouldn't he be arrested? Yeah, but it's Tupac we're talking about. It would be the L.A. Riots all over again, he would be released in no time.
- Suge Knight had Tupac murdered. Which, looking at it from a certain aspect I could see the reasoning. But, you have to think, Suge was in the car with Tupac when he was shot. Tell me, if Suge actually put a hit out for Tupac's murder, and he knew it was going down that night would he actually be dumb enough to ride in the same car? Right beside Tupac? And the strange thing is, Suge insisted that Tupac ride with him. But, another funny element to the story, in the hotel room as they were preparing to leave for the fight in Las Vegas Suge told Tupac to leave his bullet-proof vest] (which he wore everywhere, and anywhere he went) off for that night. It's also known that Tupac was working on his last albums to put out through Death Row (Suge's label) before he could get out of his contract and start up his own record label, Makaveli Records. Tupac at the time was Death Row's main source of income, and Tupac leaving the company probably wouldn't settle too well with Suge. And known for being the jealous man Suge is, he probably figured if Death Row can't have Tupac, nobody can.
- Finally, the gang related theory. Was Tupac's death the cause of a Blood/Crip rivalry? They're two of the biggest gangs in California, and it was publically open that Tupac had strong ties with the Bloods. Suge Knight was an open member of the Bloods, and was a major financial support for the association (if I can call it that). Something funny, a couple of months before Tupac's murder, a Death Row employee was walking in a local shopping mall when a local Crip, Orlando Anderson, snatched a Death Row medallion from the associate's neck and fled. Rumor was there was a cash-reward out for one of the medallions issued by the Crip Nation. Now fast forward to the night of the fight, the man mentioned above that had his necklace snatched spotted Orlando who was for some reason at the fight that night. After pointing the man out to Tupac, an entourage of Death Row "inmates", as they call themselves, lead by Tupac and Suge Knight, approached Orlando. A few words were exchanged, before Orlando was forced to the ground and physically stomped by several men. After minutes of enduring the brutal attack, the entourage fled to leave Orlando lying in the hotel lobby. Obviously embarassed and angered by it all, it's another rumor that Orlando left the hotel to gather a group of armed Crips who plotted revenge on Tupac. It's pretty logical, but it was never confirmed. Probably for the fact a couple of months after the death of Tupac, Orlando suffered the same fate after being found in an apartment complex with a hundred or so bullet holes in him. That murder was ruled as related to gang ties however.
The list of theories extends further, as the internet has been responsible for speculating all kinds of rumors regarding the death of Tupac Shakur. I'd suggest researching up on the matter, there's tons of bizarre information for example the entire "7" theory that has far too many coincidences if you ask me. The mystery of Tupac Shakur's death will probably never be officially solved, but he was by far one of the greatest rappers to ever grace the industry. It was a tragic loss to the hip hop community, but even more tragic is the fact that his death will probably never be complete.
Sources and recommended readings:
http://www.tupachq.com/theory.shtml
http://www.2pacmansion.com
ed. note - reformatted and redacted by mkb