In what was  suspected to be the culmination of an on-going rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast hip hop factions, this 25 year old rap artist and actor died on September 13, 1996 from respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds.

On  the night of September 7, 1996 Tupac attended a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  After the match, hotel surveillance video captured Shakur, Suge Knight (Death Row Records CEO) and entourage attacking  Orlando Anderson at the MGM Grand lobby.  Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips had robbed a member of Death Row Records earlier that year.  Following the assault on Anderson, Tupac and Knight headed for Death Row owned Club 662, in Knight’s black BMW sedan.

At approximately 11:15 p.m., while at a stoplight at the intersection of  Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a white Cadillac pulled up to the right side of  Knight’s BMW and  fired multiple rounds at Shakur.  He was hit in the chest, pelvis and his right hand and thigh and Knight was hit once.  Tupac was rushed to the hospital, where he had several life-saving surgeries.  After spending 6 days in a coma, Tupac was pronounced dead at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

History

Named after Tupac Amarull, a Peruvian revolutionary, his mother and father were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Tupac’s  music attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality, a direct  reflection of his revolutionary heritage.  An American rapper, Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling  music artists in the world.

Many theories have emerged regarding Shakur’s murder. In 1994, after a near fatal shooting/robbery at a Manhattan recording studio, where he sustained 5 bullet wounds, including 2  to his head. Los Angeles -based Shakur accused a number of New York rappers, including Sean combs and Notorious B.I.G. and thus became one of the central figures in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry.  This rivalry soon grew to a dangerous vendetta between the two factions, and  rumors are that this led to Shakur’s death.  Other theories include that this murder was a deliberate attempt to escalate the East Coast-West Coast feud and keep rap in the headlines in order to sell records. While still others claim that the record executives conspired to have these artists killed, because dead rappers (especially ones with legal problems that cost their companies money) are more profitable than live ones.  Despite these numerous theories, Tupac  Shakur’s death remains unsolved.