This article was originally published on July 25, 2024
Almost 30 years on, the investigation into the murder of hip-hop paragon Tupac Shakur is still throwing up new leads. Just last year, crip gang member Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis was charged with involvement in the fatal shooting that took place in 1996. It is during this ongoing trial that Bad Boy Records founder Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been implicated once more, lending weight to decades-long whisperings that he had put out the hit that got Tupac killed. Combs has always vehemently denied any involvement.
Murder allegations aside, the music mogul is currently under investigation for a slew of assaults, including against ex-partner Cassie Ventura. One video which emerged earlier this year depicts the rapper chasing Cassie through a hotel and violently attacking her, before dragging her back to his room.
Rumours have long circulated that Diddy was involved in Tupac’s murder, most recently cropping up on Eminem track “Fuel”, off recent album The Death of Slim Shady, with the lyrics: “Wait, he didn’t just spell the word “rapper” and leave out a P, did he? / R.I.P., rest in peace, Biggie / And Pac, both of y’all should be living / But I ain’t tryna beef with him / ’Cause he might put a hit on me like, ‘Keefe D, get him’.”
So where are these rumours coming from? We break down the events that led to Diddy’s name being brought up once more.
HOW DID TUPAC DIE?
On the evening of September 7, 1996, Tupac was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. His last words were reportedly “fuck you” to a police officer present at his deathbed, in response to being asked who shot him.
Tupac’s shooting followed only three hours after a fight broke out between the rapper’s entourage and rival crip gang member Orlando Anderson in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel. The attack was reported to be in response to Anderson’s attempted robbery of an affiliate of Tupac’s earlier that week, and Tupac was spotted on security cameras instigating the fight with Anderson.
Tupac’s murder was the subject of immediate headlines around the world, and has captivated conspiracy theorists ever since. Many suspected the shooting was linked to Tupac’s beef with East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls, whilst others pointed the finger at Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, who was present in the car with Tupac on the night of the murder. Yet further theories centred on a white Cadillac that was seen fleeing the scene of the crime.
WHO IS ‘KEEFE D’?
Here’s where the story takes a turn. 27 years and much hypothesising later, LAPD charged crip gang member, and uncle of Orlando Anderson, Keefe D with the murder of Tupac Shakur.
The charges follow two confessions Keefe D made about his presence in the infamous white Cadillac on the night of Tupac’s fatal shooting – one during a 2008 police interview in which he mistakenly believed he would be granted immunity for the confession, and a second in 2018 TV series Death Row Chronicles, in which he reveals a recent cancer diagnosis and states he has “nothing left to lose”.
Keefe D’s story alleges that it was his nephew Orlando Anderson (who was subsequently killed in an unrelated gang attack in 1999) who fired the fatal shots at Tupac, and that the attack was motivated both by retaliation against Anderson’s earlier beatdown by Tupac’s entourage as well as an alleged £1 million bounty offered by Diddy. According to Keefe D, Diddy was ‘angered’ by Tupac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” diss track against Biggie and Bad Boy Records.
WHAT DOES DIDDY HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?
While Diddy’s name has long been connected to Tupac’s murder, this is the first time that the theory has been heard in a courtroom. In court documents leaked from Keefe D’s ongoing trial, Diddy’s name appears a whopping 77 times.
Many, however, are still unconvinced. While it may be true that Keefe D was part of the shooting, and that Diddy had a bounty on Tupac’s head, it is still yet to be proved that it was Diddy who directly ordered Keefe D. Given the chain of events, it is equally as plausible that Keefe D was initially motivated by revenge for the attack against his nephew, and that the ‘bounty’ was simply coincidental.
Hypothesising aside, even decades later this case is still managing to break new ground, and it looks likely that some form of sentence will be handed out to Keefe D for his involvement.
Update October 7, 2024: Following Comb’s arrest for an alarming list of sexual assault allegations last month, Tupac’s estate has reportedly hired powerhouse Hollywood attorney Alex Spiro to investigate potential connections between the Bad Boy Records exec and the rapper’s murder. Spiro has previously represented Megan Thee Stallion in a high-profile case which saw Canadian rapper Tory Lanez convicted on gun charges. He also got involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin dismissed following an accidental shooting on-set in 2021.
