Keffe D goes on trial for Tupac Shakur murder

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting, the first criminal trial in the case begins this week. The rapper was 25 when he died on September 13, 1996, six days after being shot while riding in a BMW with Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight. The killing capped years of escalating tension between West Coast rappers like Tupac and East Coast acts including The Notorious B.I.G., a feud that played out in lyrics, diss tracks and headlines.

The trial centers on a single surviving suspect, Keffe D, now 60. Police say he admitted to riding in the car where the shots were fired, though he claimed he wasn’t the shooter. Detectives reopened the case in 2011 after receiving new tips, and authorities arrested Keffe D in 2018. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. The case is the first time anyone has faced legal consequences for a killing that reshaped hip-hop culture, turning Tupac into a martyr for a generation.

Prosecutors plan to call witnesses who were with Tupac that night, including Suge Knight, who was grazed by a bullet in the shooting and later served prison time for unrelated crimes. Keffe D’s nephew, Orlando Anderson, has been linked to the shooting by multiple sources, though he was never charged and was killed in a separate gang-related shooting in 1998. The trial could take weeks and may revive painful memories for fans who saw Tupac’s death as the end of a golden era in hip-hop.

If convicted, Keffe D could face life in prison. More than anything, the trial is a chance to close a chapter that has haunted hip-hop for decades. But with so much time passed and key figures dead or unavailable, questions may linger even after a verdict. The case is a reminder of how unsolved violence can linger in the culture, shaping careers and sparking conspiracy theories long after the streets have gone quiet.