Tupac Shakur is an icon unlike any other. The west coast rapper went on to sell over 75 million records, be inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame and included within the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list by Rolling Stone. Tupac is a name that strikes passion in hip-hop fans worldwide. September, however, is a tough month for Tupac fans. It’s not just the end of summer. It’s the anniversary of the hip-hop icon’s tragic murder.
INDIO, CA – APRIL 15: Rapper Snoop Dogg (L) and a hologram of deceased Tupac Shakur perform onstage during day 3 of the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 15, 2012 in Indio, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)
Tupac Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Just six days later, the rapper died of his injuries; the gunman was never identified. Still, there has always been a myriad of speculative rumors swirling around the violent moment that ended the life of one of hip-hop’s greatest influencers.
In 1995, Tupac Shakur was jailed in Rikers Island. L.A. rapper Suge Knight offered to pay Tupac’s $3 million bail on the condition that the rapper sign with Knight’s Death Row Records. A year later, Tupac Shakur was killed. The tenuous relationship between the two individuals and Tupac’s untimely death have always inspired speculation. However, some believed that Tupac was murdered by Notorious B.I.G. due to the two rappers’ quite public feud leading up to Tupac’s death. But, Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting just six months after Tupac Shakur’s death.
There are still many unknown variables when it comes to the violent death of Tupac Shakur. Still, that doesn’t mean that hip-hop fans will ever stop asking the important questions.
Read more here.
