ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Next month will mark 30 years of the death of a rap legend.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HIT 'EM UP")
TUPAC SHAKUR: (Rapping) Grab your Glocks when you see 2Pac. Call the cops when you see 2Pac.
SCHMITZ: In September of 1996, Tupac Shakur died following a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas strip. For decades, the mystery of who was behind his killing plagued the public, but no one had ever been charged, that is, until just a few years ago. In 2023, police charged Duane Davis, also known as Keffe D, with organizing Shakur's murder. The trial begins tomorrow. Joining us now is journalist Ben Westhoff. He's also the author of "Original Gangstas," where he writes about the Tupac Shakur murder investigation. Welcome.
BEN WESTHOFF: Thank you for having me.
SCHMITZ: So let's be specific here. Davis is not charged with pulling the trigger. The actual person police suspected as the gunman, Orlando Anderson, was killed in an unrelated shooting in 1998. So what exactly is Duane Davis charged with here?
WESTHOFF: He's charged with providing the murder weapon and basically orchestrating the killing.
SCHMITZ: And bring us back to that night in Las Vegas when Tupac Shakur was killed. Who was involved? What was happening?
WESTHOFF: Tupac was in Las Vegas for the Mike Tyson fight, actually. And so after the fight, Tupac and his group got into an altercation with a guy named Baby Lane, who was a member of the South Side Crips from Compton. And they got in a fight, and Tupac is actually seen on camera stomping this guy and beating him. And it wasn't too much longer after that when this group of people affiliated with the guy who got stomped allegedly came and killed him right on the Las Vegas Strip.
SCHMITZ: And now Duane Davis has been arrested for this. What led to Duane Davis' arrest and now the trial?
WESTHOFF: Well, he has kind of been talking about this case for a long time, and he was originally charged with drug dealing, with PCP-related charges. And so as part of a plea bargain, he talked to a LAPD cop named Greg Kading and basically laid out what actually happened, according to him and, you know, said he didn't pull the trigger himself, but his nephew did, the one who got stomped. Keffe D also later published a book, seemingly admitting to the crime.
SCHMITZ: So he actually wrote a book in which he said, hey, I did this.
WESTHOFF: Well, it was kind of in the OJ style, you know? If I did it...
SCHMITZ: If I did it, yeah.
WESTHOFF: ...Sort of thing, except that it was very self-incriminating. But the defense is now arguing that since he had a coauthor for the book, it can't always be clear if it's him talking or the coauthor talking.
SCHMITZ: Is this a slam dunk case, in your mind?
WESTHOFF: I think so. I mean, we've known about these details for so long. He seems to have admitted so much of it, that I would think so. The only aspect is that a lot of what he's being charged with can't really be corroborated otherwise. There were three other men with him in the car that night, but all three of them are dead. And so it's just sort of his own story is all we really have to go on.
SCHMITZ: And he, of course, is facing life in prison if convicted. What have we heard from people who are close to Tupac Shakur - his friends, his family?
WESTHOFF: I think the main thing we've heard is - why have we not had resolution in this case?
SCHMITZ: Right.
WESTHOFF: It's been 30 years, and it's not like there haven't been leads. There have been, in fact, you know, multiple LAPD investigations.
SCHMITZ: So after his death, Tupac Shakur became sort of a mythical figure in many ways. You know, there's so many theories about his killing. Some even believed that he was still alive. Why do you think his story became such a kind of a pop culture legend?
WESTHOFF: Tupac really captured, you know, not just the zeitgeist of his time - he was really popular while he was alive. But in death, he almost became more popular and not just as a musician and not even really just as a cultural figure, but as a sort of almost political prophet. You know, his words, his lyrics and also the things that he said in interviews still resonate today. He was very much for, you know, empowerment for African American people. And a lot of what he said kind of predicted the Black Lives Matter movement in a way.
SCHMITZ: That is Ben Westhoff, a journalist and author of "Original Gangstas." He's been speaking about the Tupac Shakur trial that begins tomorrow. Thanks.
WESTHOFF: Great to talk with you.
(SOUNDBITE OF 2PAC SONG, "CALIFORNIA LOVE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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