Conspiracy Theories: Tupac Shakur By Daniel Moosavi

What happened to Tupac Shakur? On September 7, 1996, Rapper, Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times by an unknown assailant. After the brutal attack Shakur was taken to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, Shakur was heavily sedated, was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the bed (Scott). 6 days later, Shakur was pronounced dead at the age of 25. The fact that the case is unresolved to this day has sparked the minds of many conspiracy theorists. Some believe Rapper, Suge Knight was an accomplice to his murder. Others believe it had to do with a previous feud between Shakur and Rapper, Notorious B.I.G. There are also other theories that conclude that Shakur staged his own death in order to fool his enemies. We will examine all said theories and will come to a conclusion whether or not they could possibly be true.

Who was Tupac Shakur? Imagine a charismatic, potential leader mixed with appearance of a typical West-Coast gangster: 5’ 9” and 165 pounds, clean-shaven head, muscular physique, many tattoos, and medium-colored complexion (“All Eyez on Me” See Schedule A). One of the most captivating rap artists of his time, Shakur, had his whole career ahead of him. Known by his alias “2pac” he was very influential to many modern-day rappers. Google “Top 5 Rappers of All Time”, and no doubt, Tupac’s name should appear.

How was Tupac described? The rapper's husky voice described his stark contradictions, setting misogyny against praise of strong women, hard-won wisdom against the violence of the "thug life" — words he had tattooed across his torso (“Rolling Stone, Tupac Shakur, Biography”). In my own words, I would describe Tupac as a rapper ahead of his time. He includes very powerful emotions in most of his songs. “Dear Mama” is a prime example of how Tupac impacts a strong emotional message. He explains how it was very tough for his mother to raise him because of no father-figure in sight and how he appreciates how much she did for him while he was growing up.

Why would anyone have the intention of murdering Shakur? On the night of November 30, 1994, Shakur was robbed and shot five times by three men in the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan (Samaha). In a 1995 interview with Vibe magazine. Shakur accused Sean Combs and Biggie among others of setting up the Quad Recording Studios attack ("What Did Sean 'Puffy' Combs Know?"). Everyone knows that greed can break the bind of friendship. Shakur and Biggie were known to be good friends. Shakur may have believed that Biggie was envious of his success and wanted to do-away with him. You’d have to have a good reason to accuse a close friend of pre-meditating your death. For whatever reason, Shakur decided Biggie was mainly responsible for the attempted homicide.

Tupac was very arrogant and that’s what made him successful. He had that “I don’t care what you think” type of attitude. I believe Shakur’s mental state was greatly affected by the shooting in 1994. He turned his back on close friends because of his insecurities. Who wouldn’t feel that way if someone tried to murder you? The human mind is very complex but in a sense we all have a common response to whatever situation is given to us. This leads me to ask the readers; what would you do if were in Tupac’s shoes? Shakur felt that he couldn’t trust anyone and that everyone was against him.

Shakur seemed to have suffered from anxiety after the 1994 incident. He started causing controversy in the rap industry by releasing “diss tracks”; many of which, were pointed at Biggie. This could only mean that Shakur felt he was inferior and had to prove that he was superior to Biggie by expressing how he felt about him and the incident. Tupac had an image to upkeep, he did not want his fans to think he was less of a thug because he chose to stay quiet. This anxiety told him to act, not think; this decision ultimately led to his death.

Today, Tupac’s death still remains a mystery.

In the case of Tupac Shakur’s death, many conspiracy theories are present. The first conspiracy theory states that Suge Knight was an accomplice to Shakur’s demise. In 1995, Suge Knight bailed Tupac out of jail with the contract of Tupac doing a double album and single album for Death Row Records (“Top 10 reasons Suge Knight killed 2pac”). Tupac fulfilled this request and was planning on leaving the record label to pursue his own. Knight knew this and was most likely angered by that. However, killing someone for quitting a job would be a pretty harsh considering they’ve completed their terms. Many people began believing that Knight killed Tupac for increased profits off of his death. Think of it, with Tupac gone Death Row Records wasn't going to make any money off Tupac. So, if they killed Tupac, everything they sold related to him would get them a whole lot of cash. Also, they would now have all of his unreleased songs which they would release under their label on soundtracks, compilation albums and possibly even new Tupac albums. Plus, it gets rid of the competition they'd receive from Tupac’s future label (“Top 10 reasons Suge Knight killed 2pac”). In fact, Knight was with Shakur when his death took place. They were both inside a vehicle with Knight driving and Tupac in the passenger side. Shakur was shot 5 times and Knight was only hit by a bullet fragmentation (Scott). This left many to ponder whether or not Knight was involved.

The second conspiracy theory claims Sean Combs and Christopher Wallace AKA Biggie Smalls pre-meditated Shakur’s death. This claim may have to do with the fact that Shakur had conflict with Smalls after the 1994 Attack at Quad Studios (Refer to Project 2). Following the attack, Biggie released a track called “Who Shot Ya?” in which many, including Tupac believed that this was released in order to taunt the rapper ("Gangsta rap: East Coast vs West Coast"). According to Shakur, he believed that Smalls and Combs pre-meditated Shakur’s attempted homicide in order get any “competition” out of the way. This can be referenced from a music video of Shakur named “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted”. The prelude for the song shows a parody of Biggie Smalls ("Piggie") and Puff Daddy ("Buff Daddy") in discussion with Shakur about the November 1994 shooting. Tupac was convinced that Smalls and Combs wanted to do-away with him. In response to “Who Shot Ya?” Tupac decided to retaliate with a few “diss” songs; one of the most popular is named “Hit ‘Em Up”. This song is very harsh in lyrics about violence and slander towards Combs and Smalls. Shakur stated in this song that he had sexual relations with Smalls current wife at the time, Faith Evans; he also made accusations that the rapper copied his clothing style and that he would kill Smalls if he crossed his path again. A little over three months later after “Hit ‘Em Up” was released, Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many believe that the “diss” song angered Smalls enough to have Shakur executed. This is very likely considering that Smalls now had a motive to do-away with Shakur.

The last conspiracy theory suggests that Shakur faked his own death to escape his enemies. A few years before his death in 1996, Tupac began going by the alias “Makaveli”; this was a clever spin-off name of Niccolò Machiavelli who was an Italian war strategist. Shakur was a big fan of Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince” and had read it during his 1995 jail sentence (“Tupac: The Lost Tapes Interview”). Now a lot of the conspiracy theorists say that Niccolò advocated in one of his works to fake your own death at the age of 25 and then to return 18 years later at the age of 43 (Jori). Tupac was born June 16, 1971, and died September 13, 1996, precisely at the age of 25 years old. If Tupac were to follow in the footsteps of Machiavelli, then his return should have been in 2014. Even though Tupac has not returned, many people still believe he will make his debut in 2016; this seems highly unlikely. There are too many claims to discuss about Tupac faking his death; I can only believe with lack of evidence that Shakur faking his own death is out of the question. However, during a recent poll experiment, 10 out of 20 people stated they believed Tupac is still alive. This theory may always remain a unresolved.

The two theories that seem most likely possible are either that Suge Knight was an accomplice to his homicide; or that Biggie Smalls and Sean Combs set-up Tupac to be killed. Suge Knight is known for his violent acts; he currently has a pending case for murder charges for a hit-and-run incident in 2015 (Dillon). It was also known that Tupac’s contract was finished with Death Row Records and he was going to leave. It would make sense that Knight would want Tupac out of the picture. It would eliminate any future competition for Death Row Records; also, with Tupac’s contract having not been terminated yet, any unreleased albums/songs Tupac made would belong to Death Row. This would increase Death Row’s income by-far considering how popular Tupac was at the time. The other most likely scenario is that Biggie and Combs did-away with Tupac. Biggie Smalls was the main target of many of Tupac’s “diss” songs. In fact, Tupac mentioned of having sexual relations with Biggie’s wife in one of his disses. Let’s face it, if you have a lot of money and power, you can make someone go away if you wish. Getting rid of Tupac would also mean less competition in the rap industry. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone. However, the case of Tupac’s death remains open.

In the case of Tupac Shakur’s death, many people will question whether or not he is living among us (3). Although many say that Shakur is surely dead, some have applicable theories to why he may be alive. The fact that he changed his alias and predicted his own death leaves many to ponder that his death an elaborate hoax (Svetky).

People who believe Tupac faked his own death believe Shakur changed his alias after his 1995 jail sentence. The famous alias “Makaveli” was a clever spin-off of famous Italian-war strategist Niccolo Machiavelli (3). Machiavelli advocated faking your own death in order to fool ones enemies. Many believe that Tupac’s alias-change was a hint to loved ones and fans that he is still alive. Tupac presumably died at the age of 25, this is coinciding with Machiavelli’s book that stated to fake your death at the age of 25 and return 18 years later at the age of 43 (“Did Tupac Fake His Own Death”). However, if this were to be true then Tupac would have returned in 2014.

After reviewing the alleged homicide case of Tupac Shakur, three conspiracy theories are left to contemplate:

1. Was Suge Knight an accomplice to the murder?

2. Did Biggie Smalls and Sean Combs have Shakur murdered?

3. Did Tupac fake his own death in order to escape his enemies?

In 2015, the nineteenth anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s alleged death, the mystery remains unresolved. There are no prime suspects in the alleged homicide of Tupac Shakur.

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