Tupac murder trial: 'All hell broke loose' night of rapper's shooting, witness says

In the opening day of Tupac Shakur's murder trial, prosecutors painted former gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis as someone seeking revenge before masterminding the drive-by shooting that killed the iconic rapper.

Witnesses took a Las Vegas jury back in time three decades ago to the night Shakur was shot, when gangs had a hold over '90s hip-hop and distrust in police led to a lack of cooperation - and one of the most famous cold cases of the last century.

Prosecutors allege that although Davis did not fire the gun that killed the influential rapper, he allegedly orchestrated the killing. Davis has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

What to know as a gang leader goes on trial in Tupac's murder

In opening arguments, the prosecution portrayed Davis as the ringleader of the group responsible for the shooting - and point to a memoir he co-authored where he wrote in detail about the night of the shooting.

"Let's be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew," Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told the jury. "Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself."

Davis' attorneys called the narrative "fiction", dubbing the case a product of a flawed-decades-long investigation. Davis has distanced himself from the memoir, saying he didn't write all of it and parts were fictionalised to sell more copies.

Davis, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, sat with his defence team as they questioned why no one had been arrested for nearly three decades and asked why "no one corroborates any of this".