Each side of this debate involves theories and opinions of people. When the shooting occurred there were no witnesses and many flaws with his murder investigation that led the media to create these rumors, which spread across the Internet like wildfire. I will explore both sides of the argument to try to understand why people believe this is such a controversial issue. In this I will have no bias opinion on whether or not Tupac is alive or dead.
Background/Pre-Analysis:
Tupac Amaru Shakur died on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 7, 1996, Tupac was in Las Vegas for a boxing match that was being held at the MGM Grand. After leaving the MGM grand he went with Suge Knight (CEO of Death Row Records) to go to Club 662. At 11:15 p.m. their car was stopped at a red light on Flamingo Road when a white Cadillac pulled up on the passenger side of Tupac’s car. The Cadillac rolled down one of its windows and rapidly fired 12 to 13 shots at Shakur. According to police reports 4 rounds hit Tupac, one in his chest, pelvis, right hand, and thigh. He was then rushed to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. At 4:03 p.m on September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur was pronounced dead. The official cause of death was said to be respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest because of the gunshot wounds. This is the most information that has been given on Tupac’s shooting. There were no witnesses present and the white Cadillac that contained the shooter had escaped.
Content Analysis:
The murder case for Tupac was never fully explored. The police had made very little progress when trying to find the shooter. Because of this there were many independent investigations and numerous rumors that spread saying Tupac was still alive. At this point in time the rap game was split between the west coast versus the east coast. Tupac was the representative of the west coast while Biggie Smallz (Notorious B.I.G.) represented the east coast. Because of their ongoing feud many people believed Biggie was involved in Tupac’s murder somehow. Outlawz member and close childhood friend of Tupac, Yafeu Fula, was in the convoy following Tupac’s car when the shooting occurred. He told police that he might be able to identify the assailants, but a couple days later he was shot and killed in a housing project in Irvington. But still many people believed he was still alive. Numerous theories were created and spread like wildfire throughout the United States. Some of these theories included that he released 4 C.D’s after his death. How could Tupac have pre-recorded enough songs for 4 C.Ds before he died when his new C.D “All Eyez On Me” was just released a couple of months earlier? This a major question when arguing if Tupac is dead or alive. All 4 of these albums also have very unique names such as “R U Still Down?” and “Makaveli: Don Killuminati: the 7 Day Theory”. Also there are mysterious messages in many of Tupac’s new songs. These are just 3 theories of many that exist. No one truly knows if Tupac is still alive or not, but he will always be known as one of the best MC’s ever.
Tupac is Dead:
With no witness’s around and an apparent wounded rapper being rushed to the hospital, no one knew if he would make it. But on September 13, 1996, Tupac was pronounced dead. There are only 2 copies of Tupac’s death certificate. One was given to his mother while the original is on file with the Clark County Office of Vital Statistics. An Autopsy was performed immediately after his death. His mother, Afeni Shakur, positively identified the body as her son. The official cause of death was respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds. A county seal was stamped on the certificate, making it an official document. Only one photo has ever been leaked of Tupac’s dead body.
- This photo below contains a picture of Tupac’s body after the autopsy.
WARNING: This picture is in color and graphic:
Autopsy Photo
In April 2005 a CNN article came out stating “Unexpected twist: Tupac Shakur alive and well.” Many people believed this article because of CNN being a reliable source for the news. But this website had a domain registered in the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. Someone used the domain cnnonline.co.nr to create a spoof CNN look-alike page stating that Tupac was alive. CNN has since forced the removal of the spoof page. For people who did not get the joke, the titles of the two faux links in the “Top Stories” Column at the bottom of the page made it clear: “You just got April Fooled!” and “Tupac’s dead. Get over it.”
- Below is a link to the picture of the fake CNN article stating that Tupac is alive:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15659_tupac-shakur-still-alive.html
Many people believed that Biggie was involved in Tupac’s murder. Biggie and Tupac were the major rap icons of the 90’s. These were the major representatives in the West Coast (Tupac)-East Coast (Biggie) rivalry. Biggie and Tupac use to be close friends until the night of November 30, 1994. Two men in army fatigue shot him 5 times in the lobby of Biggie’s recording studio. He would later accuse Biggie, and Sean “P Diddy” Combs of setting him up. Many people believed that Shakur was led to the studio by Biggie’s associates to gun him down to make a favor with Biggie. This was the major cause of the West Coast-East Coast rivalry. Many people believed Biggie was the cause for Tupac’s death in 1996 so he could be the best rapper and win the rivalry.
- Below is a link to a picture of Tupac and Biggie together when they use to be friends:
http://sammyray.com/wp-content/images/2009/01/biggie_and_tupac_still.jpg
Another theory of Tupac’s alleged killer is the story of Orlando Anderson. The story behind this is that three members of death row records were at a Foot Locker buying shoes. Every member of death row records is part of the Bloods gang of Compton. When walking back to their car 8-10 rival Southside Crips rushed the three Blood gangmember’s and one of the Crips managed to steal one of the death row member’s medallion. The person who allegedly stole it was Orlando Anderson. Three months later Tupac and his entourage of death row members were leaving the MGM Grand when they spotted Orlando Anderson. Tupac and his entourage then jumped and beat him. Later Orlando Anderson and his fellow Southside Crips followed Tupac and then shot him. This is the most logical theory of who killed Tupac, but in an interview with Orlando he denies ever even being involved with the Southside Crips.
- Below is the link to Orlando Anderson’s interview:
http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/tupac/1297interview.html
Tupac is Alive:
The Hip-Hop world was saddened with the death of one of the greatest MC’s of all-time. After his death the studio released Tupac’s new album on November 5, 1996. The album was titled “The Don Killumanti: The 7 Day Theory.” This was the first album released after his death. But in this album he went under the new stage name Makaveli. This was the first clue that Tupac was still alive. The alias Makaveli is believed to be a modernized version of Italian philosopher Niccalo Machaveli. When Tupac went to jail in 1994 for sexual harassment. Apparently he read both of Machaveli’s most famous book’s that are titled Book 1 and Book 2. This was the title of his two C.D’s on “All Eyez on Me.” Niccalo was famous for successfully faking his own death and he discussed this in both of his books. This is a major clue when discussing Tupac faking his own death as Makaveli. But why would Tupac fake his own death? In interviews prior to the shooting, Tupac talked about how he wanted to stop rapping and being a gangster and get out of the limelight. What is the only way Tupac could completely escape the media spotlight? The answer is to fake his death so that he could be free from the media.
Another thing that was suspicious was the amount of tracks that were released by Tupac after his death. How could someone have pre-recorded over 4 C.D’s of tracks after releasing a C.D. just 6 months ago? In all of these tracks Tupac raps very suspiciously. When rapping he is speaking in the tense as if he is dead. But his producer claims that all of these tracks were pre-recorded. Many of the tracks after his death have secret messages in them.
- Below are two links giving some examples of Tracks that have mysterious lines in them:
http://www.tupachq.com/theories.cfm
http://www.alleyezonme.com/alive2pac.html
The first album to be released by Tupac after his death was “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” under the alias Makaveli. From this album a conspiracy 7-day theory was created. This theory shows how relevant the number 7 is in many facts about Tupac’s apparent death. Tupac was shot on September 7th; and survived on the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and “died” the 13th. That’s 7 days until he died, hence the title The 7 Day Theory. Tupac’s album All Eyes on Me was released on February 13, 1996. Tupac “died” on September 13, 1996. It is quite a coincidence that the two dates are exactly 7 months apart. Tupac officially died at 4:03 PM, 4+3=7. Also he “died” at the age of 25 years old, 2+5=7. Doesn’t it seem odd that an album title created after his death is related to numerous factors involving his death?
These are three theories that give significant evidence on Tupac possibly being alive. Below is a list of suspicious facts that help prove that Tupac could be alive.
o There were never any pictures released of Tupac in the hospital.
o The video "I ain't Mad at Cha" was released a few days after his death. The video shows Tupac as an angel in heaven.
o In the song "Life Goes On", Tupac raps about his own funeral.
o Suge Knight didn't show up for questioning about the shooting.
o Press wasn't going to be allowed at the funeral, but then the funeral was cancelled for unknown reasons.
o Tupac always wore a bulletproof vest, no matter where he went. Surely he would have worn it to a very public event like a Tyson fight.
o In most of his songs he talks about being buried, so why was he allegedly cremated the day after he "died"? And since when do they cremate someone the day after death?
o Tupac died on Friday the 13th...
o The white Cadillac containing the assailants was never found...How could this be when Vegas are in the middle of a desert?
o The white Cadillac containing the gunmen passes an entourage of Tupac's boys; many of them body guards... No one gives chase and there are no witness...There were no witnesses on the street... How come? Why not?
o In a few music videos he was wearing trainers that were made in 1999, Tupac died in 96, those trainers didn’t even exist when he dies so how’s he wearing them in the video
o The death certificate says Tupac is 6ft, and weighs 215. I don't think so. And nobody puts 50 lbs of blood in someone. I bet Tupac had this photo made so he can slow down the alive rumors, because at first there wasn't one done, then everyone start saying he is alive and now we have an autopsy.
o Tupac was not broke the day before the Mike Tyson fight; he took all his money out of the bank…he was shot later that night.
o This is could be the weirdest clue of them all, but it could be made-up too.
o Okay, there was an email a while ago about the show Total Request on MTV with Carson Daly. That’s the show they read your emails. Well, the email said that Carson read, "Did you think I'd die?"...Rukahs, Africa. Then Carson said oops wrong card, and put it away. There is a town in Africa by this name but I have yet to find it. Rukahs is Shakur spelled backwards, and also that it was the name of the place in the "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto," video.
o Tupac bought a private island near Italy 2 months before his death but nobody knows where it is.
Picture Courtsey Of: http://www.melrosejewelers.com/rolex-watch-blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/tupac-1.jpgMeta-analysis:
Why is this topic such a big deal to some people? In an overall global and national view this topic is useless and of no importance. The statistical proof on this topic states that Tupac is dead. This proof is from his death certificate on file. In terms of the government in our country, if you have a death certificate then you’re dead. Also for these people, now having a picture of the autopsy is enough information for them to ignore these rumors and move on from Tupac’s death. But over the Internet numerous blogs and websites have been created trying to prove that Tupac is alive still. All of these rumors that were created make sense and help provide evidence that Tupac could still be alive and in hiding. Tupac stated that he was sick of the media attention and wanted to get out of the limelight. The only way he could do this is by faking his own death. He got this idea from when he was in jai reading Machaveli’s books on faking death. This is very suspicious because Tupac’s name changes to Makaveli after his death, very similar to Machaveli. Also the 7-day theory provides odd facts that provide statistical comparisons to his death age, date, and last C.D made alive. Is this a coincidence? Nobody knows, both sides can only argue their opinions on whether Tupac is alive or dead.
Summary:
On September 7, 1996 one of the best MC’s of all-time was shot down. On September 13 Tupac was officially pronounced dead. An autopsy was preformed and then he was cremated. In the months and years after the death of Tupac Shakur the media dove into speculations that his death was a hoax, and that he was actually alive, living somewhere out of the public’s eye. Many conspiracy theories arose, each seeming more and more absurd than the next, overshadowing any real evidence that could be found to give real insight into the case. Even though these theories were absurd, some made sense and caused even more Tupac fans to ponder if he really could be alive. Nothing truly ever came from these theories and media hype, as the debate over Tupac's death still rages on today, with numerous books and a few documentaries still being published revolving around the subject today. Among Hip-Hop fans nobody knows what to think. Is Tupac a living legend? Or just a legend?
References:
• The Movie “Resurrection”
Tupac Dead Links:
• http://www.tupacnet.org/theories/autopsy.htm
• http://www.tupachq.com/theories.cfm
• http://www.numberonestars.com/tupacshakur/tupacdeathcertificatedetails.htm
• http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/tupac.asp
• http://www.hitemup.com/tupac/
• http://www.alleyezonme.com/alive2pac.html
• http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.Nsf/snames-nf/Shakur+Tupac
• http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Screen/4433/deadaliv.htm
• http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/tupacshakur/tupacshakur.htm
• http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/tupac.htm
Tupac Alive Links:
• http://www.icubed.com/users/Katulu/tupac.html
• http://www.2pacaliveandwell.co.nr
• http://www.cracked.com/article_15659_tupac-shakur-still-alive.html
• http://www.trap17.com/index.php/tupac-shakur-alive_t20986.html
• http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/onlygod/alive.html
• http://www.2pacworld.co.uk/2pacAliveTheories.html
• http://ghettoman.wordpress.com/2006/12/20/is-2pac-alive/
• http://www.tysontalk.com/ftopict-1169.html
• http://www.tupac4u.de/english/alive.htm
• http://everything2.com/?node_id=745015
