“I heard rumors that I died murdered in cold
blood, traumatized pictures of me in my final states — you know mama cried. But
that was fiction, some coward got the story twisted,” are lyrics from Tupac
Shakur's song “Ain’t Hard 2 Find,” released 7 months before his so called
murder. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot 4 times while stopped at a
redlight. Since this day there have been several conspiracy theories developed:
- Orlando “baby lane” Anderson
murdered him
- Government called for his death
- Tupac faked his own death
Let’s examine these theories and the likeliness that Tupac
Shakur is still alive.
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born June 16,
1971 in East Harlem, New York City, New York. Tupac was born as Lesane Parish
Crooks, in which his mother, Afeni Shakur, a member of the Black Panther Party,
renamed him after the famous Peruvian Revolutionary, Tupac Amaru II (Ray,
Micheal). Tupac later took
his last name from his sister, Sekiya's, father, another Panther named Mutulu Shakur (“Tupac Shakur”).
Tupac's birth father, Billy Garland, left Afeni was he was only five years old.
The rapper would not see him again until the age of twenty three. Throughout
Tupac’s short life, he displayed many attributes.
Shakur always longed for a father
figure. In an interview with Vibe Magazine he states, “I thought my father was
dead my whole life” and, “I felt I needed a daddy to show me the ropes and I
didn’t have one” (“Tupac Shakur”). The absenteeism of his father took an
emotional toll on Tupac. In a popular song, “Dear Mama,” he raps, “No love from my daddy cause the
coward wasn't there. He passed away and I didn't cry, cause my anger wouldn't
let me feel for a stranger. They say I'm wrong and I'm heartless, but all along
I was looking for a father he was gone. I hung around with the Thugs, and even
though they sold drugs, they showed a young brother love” (“Dear Mana”.)
Through out the search for a father figure, Tupac erroneously mistook certain
people, such as criminals, pimps, and drug dealers, as his role models. These
so called “role models” led him down the path of gang violence and drugs.
In 1985, his family settled in
Maryland (Ray, Micheal), where he attended the reputable, Baltimore School for
the Arts. At the Arts, Tupac
studied ballet, jazz, poetry, and acting (Shakur, Tupac). This school is where he met Jada Pinkett, who
soon became his best friend. According to Pinkett, Shakur was full of charisma,
explaining, “as soon as he
approached me, he was like a magnet. Once you paid attention to him he kind of
sucked you in.” Tupac’s charisma is what made him more effective at spreading
his influence. As a leader, Shakur, had the ability to make others feel
understood. He showed commitment to the hood after making it big, which
inspired others to take interest, and take action.
One of Tupac Shakur's strongest traits is bravery. In his
music, he fearlessly led the black community through the struggles they
encountered such as police brutality, poverty, racism. In his most controversal
song “Brendas Got a Baby” he explains a story of a young girl who turns to the
streets after being molested by a family member and impregnated. Involving
realistic circumstances in his songs made it possible for other young kids to
relate and maybe change their ways. Tupac speaks his mind and does not worry
about what other people think, which in turn, takes a lot of courage. Knowing
his life could easily be threathened, he writes a song about “blasting” a
police officer. Soon after this song, “Soldier’s Story” was released, it was
claimed as the motivation for a real-life cop killing by a teenage car thief,
Ronald Ray Howard, and was criticized by Vice President, Dan Quayle.
(Tupac Shakur). Tupac Shakur was never afraid to be himself, and he represented
the black community so for this reason he knew he had to fight for what was
right.
The
first theory proposes that Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a member of the
Southside Crip Gang, murdered him. This theory came about recently, when his
uncle, Duane Keith Davis, or “Keefe D” confessed under immunity (Death Row
Chronicles.) The night of the murder, Tupac and other members of Death Row
Records, who were affiliated with the bloods,
attended a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. After
the boxing match, Tupac and his entourage attacked Baby Lane in the lobby of
the Las Vegas Casino after he stole a medallion from one of them (Tupac’s
Killer Finally Revealed…). According to Keefe D, him, Orlando Anderson, Terrance
Brown, and Deandre Smith all got into their Cadillac and went on a search to
find Tupac Shakur. To begin the search, they started at the 662 Club, where
Tupac was supposed to be performing that night (BET Networks.) After they
realized Shakur was nowhere to be found at the club, they left. Soon after
leaving 662, they heard the tumult of girls screaming “Tupac!!!” (Ex-Gangster
Keefe D…) so they followed the car in which Tupac was in. Keefe D says that
when they pulled up to the red light, the shots “came from the back,” (BET
Networks) implying that is was Orlando who had the gun. Two years after Tupac's
death, Orlando Anderson was murdered by a member of the Bloods.
The
second theory suggests that the government killed Shakur for giving a voice to
the street gangs. Tupac’s goal was to make a change, and make a difference
through his music. In one of his songs “Trapped,” he states “Can barely walk
the city streets without a cop harassing me, searching me then asking my
identity. Hands up, throw me up against the wall didn’t do a thing at all…”
(“Trapped”). He was brave, and not afraid to speak his mind, in which the
government did not like. During a BET interview with Ed Gordon, Shakur
expresses, "I had no police record until I made a record. As my video was
debuting on MTV I was behind bars getting beat up by the police department,”
suggesting he was only on the police's radar once he became famous (BET
Networks). Within the beginning of this murder, Las Vegas Police Department
blew off the investigation, hinting that something was going on.
The last theory presents the idea that Tupac Shakur faked
his own death and is still alive. One of Shakur’s stage names was Makaveli,
after the famous Niccolo Machiavelli. In a book by Niccolo there is a section
about “defeating your enemies,” in which Tupac had plenty of, stating that
foxes achieve this by faking their death. Shakur's stage name “Makaveli” can be
rearranged to spell “Am Alive K”. Many people believe the K stands for Kasanova
tha Don (Mystery.) Kasanova is a rapper discovered by, The Outlawz, a hip hop
group founded by Tupac. From listening to Kasanova Tha Don, I have noticed his
lyrics and rap style are very similar to those of Tupac Shakurs. It is likely
that Kasanova could be acting as frontman for Tupac's voice and music. In 2012,
Kasanova released a song called “Mystery” and in the beginning he states, “It's been sixteen
years, still stuck in a dark cage living in my
mind of that fateful day, 9-7-96 I remember like it was yesterday, I got a lot
to say” (“Mystery”.) These lyrics seem like something only Tupac would have the
right to say, considering 9-7-96 was the day he was “shot.” More lyrics that
denote you to believe he is still alive are from Shakur's song, “God Bless the
Dead” in of which he raps “rest in peace to my mother f***a Biggie Smalls”
(“God Bless The Dead.”) Although, how could he rap this if Biggie was murdered
six months after Shakur was supposedly murdered ? Another fact to consider is
that Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, claimed to have paid three
million dollars to have Tupac Cremated. However, the person who performed the
crematory process disappeared the day after and has never been seen or heard of
again (What happened with his cremation.) I believe there is ample evidence to
prove the fact that Tupac Shakur is in fact, still alive.
On
September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot 4 times while stopped at a redlight. Since
this day there have been several conspiracy theories developed, including:
Orlando “baby lane” Anderson murdered him, the government called for his death,
and that Tupac faked his own death. Even now, twenty two years after the so
called murder, the mystery remains unsolved. No one will ever know if Tupac is
truly dead, or alive, but his music will live forever.
Works Cited
BETNetworks. “Keffe D Stutters, Almost
Revealing Who Killed Tupac | Death Row
Chronicles.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Feb. 2018,
BETNetworks. YouTube, YouTube, 19 Sept. 2016,
“Encyclopedia of African American History.” Google Books,
books.google.com/books?id=Uhh7GggNxQoC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=Tupac
studied ballet, jazz,
poetry, acting, and continued his rap
career&source=bl&ots=ugZM_W9md6&sig=PdQ4Keqas9l0AyPfXysCXiPyiEM&hl=en
&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjrrt399vvdAhVKRqwKHYZsCNwQ6AEwCnoECAoQAQ#v=o
nepage&q=Tupac
studied ballet, jazz, poetry, acting, and continued his rap
career&f=false.
Hodge, Mark, and Jon Lockett. “Tupac's Killer
Finally Revealed as Orlando 'Baby Lane'
Anderson.” The Sun, The Sun, 3 July 2018, www.thesun.co.uk/news/6682072/tupac-killer-revealed-netflix-orlando-baby-lane-anderson/.
“Kasinova
Tha Don.” Mystery, 17 May 2018,
tupacimmortal.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/kasinova-tha-don/.
Lenthang,
Marlene. “Ex-Gangster Keefe D Confesses to Role in Tupac's Drive-by Shooting.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 3 July 2018,
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5909857/Ex-gangster-Keefe-D-confesses-role-rappers-drive-shooting.html.
Ray, Michael. “Tupac Shakur.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 9 Sept.
“Tupac Shakur.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 July 2018,
“Tupac
Shakur Dies.” History.com, A&E Television Networks,
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tupac-shakur-dies.
“Tupac Shakur Is Shot.” History.com, A&E Television Networks,
Wosu,
Chris. “What Happened with His Cremation?” Capital
XTRA, Capital XTRA, 4
Oct. 2018,
www.capitalxtra.com/artists/tupac/best-conspiracy-theories/cremation/. v
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