A&E’s “Who Killed Tupac?”-Review

On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was gunned down in the streets of Las Vegas. He was riding in a car next to his record producer and friend, Suge Knight. Several bullets struck Tupac. He died a week later.  20 years have passed and the crime has still gone unsolved despite multiple clues and suspects. According to Ben Crump this is a miscarriage of justice. A civil crime against one of the most outspoken and politically vocal rap artists of all time.

Famed civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, takes a no holds barred approach to investigating and exploring all of the information on Tupac’s murder. Ben talks to the people who were there that night; family, friends, and law enforcement agencies. 

Afeni Shukur, Tupac’s mother, was a well known Black Panther Party member. “Who Killed Tupac?” looks into the early years growing up in such a well known family. Tupacs brother, Mopreme Shakur, remembers how his family was under constant surveillance by the FBI and government officials. Mopreme talk about the time when they were younger and watching “Enter the Dragon” and would have “white men in suits” rummaging through their trash outside.

E.D. I.Mean, Tupacs childhood friend and band mate, recounts how visionary Tupac was at an early age. He remembers that Tupac’s mother always stressed “Intelligence” above all else. Tupac’s mother would make him read the Wall Street Journal and E.D.I. says that Tupac always had a great imagination.

Ben Crump and E.D.I. Mean return to the Las Vegas streets together.  E.D.I. recalls the night when Tupac was murdered. He was sitting in the car just behind Suge and Tupac when a car pulled up next to them and opened fire. He recalls not being allowed to help Tupac and being forced to lay on the ground by Las Vegas Police.

Three out of four of the female eye witnesses to the shooting return to the scene of the crime and recount what they had seen. They were the last people to talk to Suge and Tupac. They were in the car that was in front of the shooters car just before the incident.

“Who Killed Tupac” speaks to the first police officer on the scene, bike officer Chris Carroll. Carroll recalls the chaos of the scene and being the first responder. As he watched Tupac dying he asked Tupac for a “dying declaration” of who shot him. A dying declaration is an admissible piece of verbal evidence that can come from a person who is dying. Tupacs response to Officer Carroll was: ”Fuck you”. Officer Carroll remembers that he was meeting a lot, of what he calls, “passive resistance” from Tupac’s entourage when trying to find out what had happened to the 25 year old rapper.

Big Boy, popular radio personality in Los Angeles’ Power 106, speaks about what it was like to have to announce the death of his long term friend Tupac. The death of such an influential artist left the entire world stunned. Even more shocking then a bold Las Vegas Blvd shooting, was that there have been no arrests made in the still “open” and “unsolved” case. Suge Knight has publicly said that “even if he did know who Tupac’s killer was, he would not tell the police.” Las Vegas police have never interviewed Orlando Anderson, the man who was in the Casino fight with Tupac. This brawl, that was caught on tape, was rumored to be the catalyst to Tupac’s murder. Interview footage of Anderson shows him denying the murder and his cousin and brother confirm that he is not a murderer. Orlando had a long history with the LAPD and was a known suspect in several murders. Orlando Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shooting two years later. A forensic specialist in human behavior reviews the last interview footage of Orlando and she draws a very different picture of Anderson and his involvement of Tupacs murder.

The series explores over 6 episodes eye-witness testimony and the heresy of conspiracy theories. Ben Crump is trying to connect all of the pieces of evidence to break the silence that has left this crime unsolved for over two decades.

I was moved by the testimonies of the people who loved Tupac the most. It was very clear that he was an artist far ahead of his time.  Given the Shakur families political history and the popularity that Tupac was gaining as an artist and activist, his death is very peculiar. A lot of questions were raised and the circumstances surrounding the murder and investigation afterwards are very suspicious.

“The truth is out there!”

Tune into the 6-part series Biography: “Who Killed Tupac?” starting November 21st at 9pm ET/PT on A&E to see it for yourself.  Check your local listings for show times.