What do you think the motive for Tupac's murder was?

[yourhomiebrian]

There was all kinds of different theories on why Tupac was murdered. Everything from the Government or FBI wanted him dead to a rival rapper or even gang related. What do you guys think is the most likely motive for 2 PAC's murder? I personally think it was a rival rapper of some sort.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by yourhomiebrian

There was all kinds of different theories on why Tupac was murdered. Everything from the Government or FBI wanted him dead to a rival rapper or even gang related. What do you guys think is the most likely motive for 2 PAC's murder? I personally think it was a rival rapper of some sort.

Agree.. the whole East Coast/West Coast rap thing was big and violent at that time. The only thing surprising about it is that noone has been caught and seemingly, there are no real suspects. I think BIG was a suspect so far as orchestrating it..

Always confused me why there are conspiracy theories about Tupac but not BIG. Their murders were quite similar.

[Heenan Fan]

He was a gangster. It doesn't take a damn brain surgeon to figure out the motive of him being killed. All these movies and documentaries and conspiracy theories about why he was killed is just liberal propaganda b.s. Bottom feeders trying to make money off it. He was a gangster killed by a gangster. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by Heenan Fan

All these movies and documentaries and conspiracy theories about why he was killed is just liberal propaganda b.s.

Well, ok then... The Moderator has spoken.

[isotope]

It was almost certainly gang related. The most credible analyses all point to the fact he'd been involved in the vicious beating of a Crips associate earlier that night and they wanted revenge.

Its fun to theorize about the FBI or about Suge Knight (All things being equal I wouldn't put it past him, but he was sitting right next to Tupac when the hit took place, and came within inches of death himself - I think that rules him out), but all signs point to gang revenge. Its as as simple - and pointless - as that.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by isotope

It was almost certainly gang related. The most credible analyses all point to the fact he'd been involved in the vicious beating of a Crips associate earlier that night and they wanted revenge.

Its fun to theorize about the FBI or about Suge Knight (All things being equal I wouldn't put it past him, but he was sitting right next to Tupac when the hit took place, and came within inches of death himself - I think that rules him out), but all signs point to gang revenge. Its as as simple - and pointless - as that.

All this.

I remember having and reading that LAbryinth book several, several years ago, which was basically like the bible for Russell Poole's Rampart theory. I don't think he was wrong at all to aim an investigation down a path of what indeed turned out to be corrupt LAPD officers, but I find he ultimately didn't make the final, hard link: any actual indication Suge Knight or any representative of Death Row Records ordered any of them--David Mack, Amir Muhammad, whoever--to hit Tupac Shakur (especially when Knight's sitting right next to him in a car, just as you said).

I think the notion that Sean Combs ordered a hit on Tupac is even more tenuous.

And I think Christopher Wallace's death is far more mysterious but is often overshadowed by the legends that have cropped up around Shakur's murder.

[tsaun]

It was Tupac's crew beating up Orlando Anderson (a cript member) earlier that night.

Anderson's uncle (who was also a gangbanger) confessed that he and Orlando murdered Tupac in the white Cadillac.

It makes the most sense.

[Zero]

Originally Posted by yourhomiebrian

There was all kinds of different theories on why Tupac was murdered. Everything from the Government or FBI wanted him dead to a rival rapper or even gang related. What do you guys think is the most likely motive for 2 PAC's murder? I personally think it was a rival rapper of some sort.

I’ve read and watched a lot about Tupac’s demise, but at the moment I can’t remember where exactly (website, show, etc.) Anyway, my own conclusion is that it was gang related. Tupac was a low life thug, who hung out with gang members. By the time he was killed he had already been shot by several times in a separate incident. The night of the drive by, he and his entourage (more low life Blood gang members) beat up a Crip gang member. One of Tupac’s boys recognized him. Anyway Tupac and Shug and others beat the guy up and Tupac was shot shortly after. There were witnesses. The Vegas PD made some mistakes. And from my understanding, they were not interested in whatever information the LAPD had. I can’t really blame them. On any given night there are THOUSANDS of Southern Californians there causing a ruckus. Tupac, who ultimately was assassinated by rival gang members was probably a one less LA gangsta they had to worry about.

The man who Tupac beat up, that Crip, well he died in a gang related shooting two years later. No big loss. And really, Tupac had been arrested for shooting at people, physically and sexually assaulting women, and probably some other things I’m forgetting right now. He had spent some time in jail for some of those crimes too. It was just a matter of time. “You did the way you live.”

Notorious BIG was a completely different story. There’s a theory he was killed by a member of the “Fruits of Islam.” LAPD can’t be bothered to pursue and ultimately clear or close the case because that would expose their corruption. Sadly, it makes perfect sense to me.

[tlc38tlc38]

He’s not dead. He’s on an island with Elvis, Michael, and Marilyn.

[fairfax18]

Originally Posted by Zero

The man who Tupac beat up, that Crip, well he died in a gang related shooting two years later. No big loss. And really, Tupac had been arrested for shooting at people, physically and sexually assaulting women, and probably some other things I’m forgetting right now. He had spent some time in jail for some of those crimes too. It was just a matter of time. “You did the way you live.”

Tell everyone the whole story please, an article from The New Yorker mentioned the incident regarding Tupac shooting at two off duty cops.

Of all Tupac’s much publicized, violent confrontations in the tempestuous year 1993, none better illustrated the degree to which he had become the exemplar of the gangsta-rap mandate than his arrest for shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta. The officers, he would later say, had been harassing a black motorist. The charges were dropped when it emerged that the policemen had been drinking and had initiated the incident, and when the prosecution’s own witness testified that the gun one of the officers threatened Tupac with had been seized in a drug bust and then stolen from an evidence locker.

You glossed over a lot of stuff with your comment, drunk off duty cops with a gun they stole out of an evidence locker, harass a black motorist and Tupac goes to the motorist's defense and gets in a scuffle and charges are dropped against Tupac once the inconvenient facts about the night's event starts to come out.

Tupac was accused of rape by a woman who earlier performed oral sex on him on the dance floor at a night club they met each other at. She said he raped her in his hotel room, Tupac was found not guilty on three counts of sodomy but due to his reputation and constant run ins with the law he was given a harsh sentence for what is akin to grabbing a woman's butt (according to New York State's penal code in the 90s). The oral sex does not excuse any further sexual act she might not want to partake in, it's to give a better understanding of the situation instead of making vague comments by someone who has a superficial understanding of the situation, also, he was accused of assaulting one woman, not "women" as in more than more woman accused him of rape.

When he returned to the courtroom, bandaged and in a wheelchair, he was acquitted of the three sodomy counts and the weapons charges but, in an apparent compromise verdict, convicted of two counts of sexual abuse—specifically, forcibly touching Ayanna Jackson’s buttocks.

If anyone wants to read the article just google If anyone wants to read the article just google The Takedown of Tupac + the New Yorker.

Tupac's biggest mistakes were associating himself with losers.

[yourhomiebrian]

If Tupac was such a POS gangster why did so many people from different backgrounds like him? You would have thought he cured world hunger or something.

[5thcorps]

When you live a thug life it all too often catches up with you.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by yourhomiebrian

If Tupac was such a POS gangster why did so many people from different backgrounds like him? You would have thought he cured world hunger or something.

It's pretty clear from even a few readings of Tupac's life history he wasn't a gang member himself, although he may have been surrounded by them at various points in his life.

If anything, he was steeped in black liberationism and the arts--and by no means was from the streets, despite the subject matter of some of his tracks. It was something rival rappers taunted him about constantly.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

It's pretty clear from even a few readings of Tupac's life history he wasn't a gang member himself, although he may have been surrounded by them at various points in his life.

If anything, he was steeped in black liberationism and the arts--and by no means was from the streets, despite the subject matter of some of his tracks. It was something rival rappers taunted him about constantly.

Yep. That was common with a lot of gangsta rappers in the 90s. They liked to play off that they were gang-banging kids of the street when in reality most grew up in average or above average situations. Some had true street affiliation, but most were trying to sell the glory of gang life without having lived it themselves. It's really sad to think of how many kids were probably brainwashed by this.

Even as a white kid in suburbia, we listened to a lot of that in the 90s and thought how cool they all were. It's really embarassing now.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

It's pretty clear from even a few readings of Tupac's life history he wasn't a gang member himself, although he may have been surrounded by them at various points in his life.

If anything, he was steeped in black liberationism and the arts--and by no means was from the streets, despite the subject matter of some of his tracks. It was something rival rappers taunted him about constantly.

Dude, if I read and remember correctly, Tupac went to a private school for the arts and studied Shakespeare and ballet in school. That doesn't exactly scream as someone who came directly from the streets.

I've read quite a bit about this case (although not as much as Kurt Cobain) and I find the Suge Knight connection fascinating. Seriously-- if you ordered a hit on someone, the best place you *could* be would be in the same car with the person in order to avoid suspicion. Suge is obviously not a good person, as his recent history shows. Despite that, I don't think it was him. I also don't think it was Sean "Puffy" Combs, although THAT story is an interesting one, too!

I think the most probable outcome is the story that it was a gang-related shooting. Orlando Anderson is as good of a suspect as anyone. However, I don't think we'll ever know.