The trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, has begun in Las Vegas. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Davis, 63, faces a single count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death. He has been jailed since late 2023 and has pleaded not guilty.
For decades, Shakur's unsolved killing has gripped hip-hop fans. He is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time with songs that speak to the human experience of love, heartache and familial relationships. When Shakur died, he was in the midst of a fierce battle for dominance in a music scene increasingly shaped by rival gangs.
The trial, expected to last about a month, likely won't reveal who pulled the trigger. Instead, prosecutors hope to prove that Davis was the shot caller and provided the weapon. Gunfire came from the Cadillac that Davis was in, and he is one of the only people there that night who is still alive. Prosecutors say if Davis hadn't written explicitly about the killing, or talked about it in interviews, it's likely no one would have been charged.
On Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight was driving. They had just watched Mike Tyson knock out Bruce Seldon and were headed to a nightclub where Shakur was scheduled to perform. But at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, a white Cadillac pulled up beside them, and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived with minor injuries.