Rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls (born Christopher Wallace and also known as The Notorious Big) were one of the first recording artists to achieve mainstream success in songs about the growth of poor and black people in crime-hitting areas. Their death, murdered within about six months at the height of their fame in the 1990s, produced gang rape pay hitmen, cover-ups and police conspiracy theories.
Both murders remained unsolved for nearly 30 years, with no one being charged with Smalls’ murder. However, in 2023, Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis, who was described in court records as a former high-ranking member of Crips Street Gang, was charged with the murder of Shakur. Davis pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in 2026.
In a Drug Enforcement Bureau report detailing a secret police interview obtained by USA Today and filed in a Nevada court as part of his case against him, Davis alleges that Sean “Diddy” Combs had awarded a $1 million bounty to the head of Sugenite, the co-founder of Shakur and Deathrow’s records.
Combs, 55, has not been charged in connection with Shakur’s death and has repeatedly denied any involvement. A spokesman for the Las Vegas metropolitan police station told USA Today that Combs was not a suspect in Shakur’s murder.
There is how hip-hop rivalries escalated into a fatal conflict, according to previous confidential reports, previous testimony from the Great Ju Court that charged Davis and additional police and court records.
Illustrations by Veronica Bravo. Ramon Padilla animation
