Tupac Shakur's Death by Anyah Joseph

The night of September 13, 1996, and the six troubling days after was a horrible time for the people for New York and California. That night, Tupac Shakur, an upcoming, well-known rapper and actor, was shot four times in a drive-by shooting. Over the years, the death of Tupac was discussed and argued over. There are many theories as to how his death came to happen, over even to say if he really is dead. Questions like, “Did Suge Knight kill him?”, “Was he killed over arguments and rap disses between himself and Biggie Smalls?”, or “Did he fake his death to remove the pressure of stardom?” Let’s carefully examine all of these theories to find out the best solution to the conspiracy.

Tupac Amaru Shakur II, born Lesane Parish Cook, had influences on his life since birth that made him into the man he was. His mother and step-father were both black panthers. Most people around him were involved in some type of activism. The traits that he gained were imprinted onto him throughout the rest of his life.

Tupac’s childhood surroundings showed him how important it was to be loyal. The rap group, Outlawz, and other rappers describe Tupac’s loyalty as “If he’s all in with you, then he’s all in” (The Outlawz on 2Pac and Snoop Dogg Beefing Before 2Pac’s Death). From his surroundings, he also learned determination and ambition. Tupac took all his effort and put it in activities that he was good at so that he could better himself and his community. Tupac saw his mother go through multiples of troubles throughout his life, from drug abuse to abuse from the criminal justice system, but he never saw her give up. In his book, Tupac: Resurrection, he says “My mother was seven months pregnant, they put a match to the door and said ‘Fire, Fire!’. And you know it’s like five in the morning, so my mother opened the door and they just burst in, put a shotgun to her pregnant belly and put a gun to her head and said, ‘Don’t move – you’re under arrest’ (Tupac 6). (6). He also went on to say that his mother was pregnant with him in prison and was her own attorney, while never have gone to law school. She, a pregnant black woman facing an excessive amount of years, beat the case by herself (Shakur). This instilled in him a sense of strength. People like Snoop Dogg and The Notorious B.I.G. described Tupac as a strong person. “He was the same person that got shot five times and pointed his middle fingers while on the stretcher”, says Snoop Dogg (Snoop Dogg’s Last Moments with 2Pac and a Shocking Interaction).

Tupac also learned honesty and boldness from his mother. With her being a black panther herself, she didn’t tolerate certain things from her children. This followed him a lot throughout his life. He had no problem telling the world how he felt, regardless of the situation. On an interview with Too $hort, he stated “Tupac showed different personalities anytime I would see him. One day he would be militant, the next he would be intellectual and serious about problems going on in his community and with his people or he might be chasing women, partying and smoking” (“That One Time Tupac Showed All His Personalities”). Tupac indeed did show all these characteristics throughout his life, music, and anything he participated in. He loved expressing problems within his community and ways to fix it. But, he could also be a part of the problem. It just depended on the way he felt that day.

Tupac grew up as an intellectual; the image that his raps or actions showed was not how he was brought up. As a child, Tupac attended the Baltimore School of the Arts. There he learned to act and, later, made acting into a career along with others. He appeared in movies like Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson, Juice and Above the Rim. In all of these movies, he wrote for his own scenes. As a child, Tupac was a good writer, so it was no surprise that he went on to write his own book, A Rose that Grew from Concrete. In one of his interviews, while he was in jail, he also spoke of a screenplay that he wrote while being locked up in solitary, about his life; “I spent most of my beginning time in solitary. It gives you time to think. I’ve actually started writing a screenplay over my life. Most of it is true facts, some of it is fiction” (“Tupac Shakur: Clinton Correctional Facility Prison Interview”).

Tupac always tried to reach people. In an interview with his mother, Afeni Shakur, she said: “My son always had the ability to feel the emotions of others and put it into words that they could understand” (“About Tupac with Afeni Shakur”). He would make music about problems that he himself or the community would be going through. In an interview, he stated “I try to speak about things that affect me and things that affect the community. Most of the time I try to do it from the view of the watcher.” (“Tupac Shakur: Clinton Correctional Facility Prison Interview”). Tupac had plans to better the community. He believed that the gangs in his community could be good, that they could be used to better the community instead of tearing it apart. He wanted to send young kids to college after high school to keep them out of the streets.

Tupac left a legacy. He changed the way of the music industry. Even today, there’s not a person in the music industry who hasn’t learned from Tupac. Many artists like J.Cole, Lil Boosie, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, think of Tupac as a huge influence on their style. Now, instead of just rapping or singing about guns and killings, artists all around are telling stories of things that ail their communities and themselves. Tupac is not just thought of as a rapper. He is thought of as an important figure throughout the music industry and globally. People responded to Tupac’s music and still do because he talked about the real problems. His style was unique for his time. Rappers who he came out with didn’t tell stories within their music. Tupac found a way to sell music and talk about subject that troubled him. But, most importantly, he opened up minds of his community and the people around him.

The first theory approaches the thought that Suge Knight killed Tupac. Suge Knight approached Tupac while he was incarcerated on a sexual offense charge. Suge Knight gave Tupac a deal that was hard to refuse. He planned to pay for all of Tupac’s expenses while he was in jail, and once he got out, he would sign with Suge Knight’s record label, Death Row Records. Tupac agreed to this deal. Tupac withheld his deal with Death Row and Suge. Once the deal was over, he let Suge know that he didn’t want to renew the deal and that he wanted to expand; he wanted to create his own record label. Suge wasn’t a huge fan of this idea, especially since Tupac had not yet payed off his debt from all the things that Suge took care of to get him out of jail. During a survey, 40 percent of the people believed that Tupac was killed by Suge Knight. This theory would work except for the fact that Suge was creating a West Coast Death Row Records that he planned on putting Tupac in charge of. If Suge Knight was to kill Tupac or get him killed, he would be losing money. Tupac and Suge Knight were close friends. ("Tupac Shakur 2Pac) VIBE The Lost Interview"). In an interview with Kevin Powell and Vibe he says “Me and Suge will always do business together, forever” (1). The night that he died, Tupac rode with him. It makes no sense that Suge would allow Tupac to ride with him if he was knowing that he would get shot.

The second theory is that Tupac is still alive. While conducting a survey to see what people thought about the death of Tupac, the idea that Tupac still being alive was approached. Earl Alexander stated:

The initial news report said that Tupac’s injuries were not deadly. Also, a   cop who was dying of cancer admitted to helping cover up the faked death of Tupac. Tupac also told his mother in his songs and just during face to face talks that he wanted to be buried. Why would his mother not respect his dying wishes? (Alexander)

            Suge Knight says that Tupac spoke about faking his death to escape what he already saw coming, his inevitable death. ("Suge Knight Full Interview From 'Who Shot Biggie & Tupac' Documentary Audio"). In an interview with Ice T and Soledad, Suge implies that Tupac could possibly still be alive. When further questioned about his statement he said “When I left the hospital that night, me and Pac were laughing and joking so I don’t understand how a person could go from good to bad that quick” (1).The fact that Suge was in the car with Tupac at the time that he was shot, he was with him in the hospital and he had a friendly past with Tupac, Suge would’ve known if Tupac was sickly or on the verge of death. In another interview, Suge says:   

The idea of Tupac faking his death is not so farfetched. Pac always said that he would do anything to escape going back to prison. Then, you know, his stage name was Machiavelli. Machiavelli faked his death and Tupac knew all about him o he would always talk about faking his death (1).

Suge Knight’s son, Suge J Knight, also came out and said things on his Instagram page such as, “Tupac is alive.”, “I just got Tupac in the studio, new music on the way.”, and other claims. (1). This theory best solves the conspiracy.

            The third theory is that he was killed over rap beef between him and The Notorious B.I.G. The night that Tupac got shot five times, he had gone downstairs to check on something. In the time that he got shot, was hospitalized and released, Biggie Smalls dropped a song called “Who Shot Ya”. Tupac took this as a sign of betrayal from a close friend. He dropped a diss to Biggie called “Hit Em’ Up”. In the song, he made claims with things like he had relations with Faith Evans, Biggie’s wife at the time. Within the song, he also managed to diss Biggie’s record label, friend’s, family, crew and the whole East Coast. This theory is the one that works the least because Biggie and Tupac were both hurt by the other’s actions but constantly had love for each other. In the Vibe interview, Tupac looks to Biggie as a little brother. He says:

There was never a beef, just a difference in opinion. My homeboy Suge gave me the best advice that I could ever get from anybody. He said when people ask him if he is still beefing with BadBoyz, Puff, he would say that’s like going to a park and picking on a little kid. Why would I be mad about my little brother getting money. I was upset because of the disrespect. ("Tupac Shakur 2Pac) VIBE The Lost Interview")

On September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot four times. It was assumed that he would live because he had been shot before five times and continued to live a vigorous life. But, to many people’s dismay, he was proposed dead six days later. We have thoroughly examined the theories of his absence. Theories like: Did Suge Knight kill him? Is he still alive? Or Was he killed over rap beef including Biggie Smalls? The theory that best solves the claim of his death is that he is not dead at all. There have been supposed sightings of Tupac from many music moguls and even talks of new music from him. It is not sure to say that he is alive, but evidence points to only one direction.

Works Cited

  Alexander, Earl. Personal Interview. 25 June 2019.

"About Tupac with Afeni Shakur Part 1." YouTube, 18 June 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Irx0j3U5I.

"SNOOP DOGG'S Last Moments with 2PAC and a Shocking Interaction [Interview] (Snoop & 2Pac Beef)." YouTube, 26 June 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cku5f7ZXkOU.

"Suge Knight Addresses Son's Claims That Pac is Still Alive." YouTube, 4 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTvh6ENlyMI.

"Suge Knight Full Interview From 'Who Shot Biggie & Tupac' Documentary Audio." YouTube, 16 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHmEALrdTk.

"That One Time Tupac Showed All His Personalities | I Talked to 2pac." YouTube, 27 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqNN3_enS6s.

"The Outlawz on 2Pac and Snoop Dogg Beefing Before 2Pac's Death." YouTube, 11 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqLMBVYXSZE.

"Tupac Shakur 2Pac) VIBE The Lost Interview." YouTube, 14 Oct. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPP3Up4pdVE.

"Tupac Shakur: Clinton Correctional Facility Prison Interview, September 1995." YouTube, 25 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhpq0MEcYzg.

"Tupac Shakur's Legacy, 20 Years On." NPR.org, 13 Sept. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/09/13/493671606/tupac-shakurs-legacy-20-years-on.

"Tupac." Google Books, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=F12eoKOfO7EC&oi=fnd&pg=PA6&dq=tupac+shakur&ots=w-cPm920B_&sig=z3a-cs8KcK2LSNyjSphb3-ne4eI#v=onepage&q&f=false.