The death of rapper Tupac Shakur caused by a shooting after a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996 left his many fans heartbroken and questioning who committed the crime. Many say that Tupac lived the thug life and paid for it. Yet, what has become of Tupac since his death is compelling enough for some to suggest that he is still alive. No, Tupac is not the next Elvis. This time the evidence is more convincing.
There are three major theories surrounding Tupac's death. The first is that Tupac faked his death to fool his enemies and earn more revenues from his soon-to-be released material. The second is that Suge Knight, head of Death Row Records, had Tupac killed to earn the revenues from the soon-to-be-released material and to erase the multimillion-dollar debt that the label owed Tupac. The third is that Tupac was simply killed by one of his enemies (remember at the time the East Coast/West Coast rivalry was still strong). Tupac had insulted various East Coast rappers including the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy in his songs. Tupac had many enemies and had even gotten into a fight the night of the shooting. His life is full of shootings and attacks that he committed ? so many in fact that it would be tedious to list them all. Something has to be pretty damn interesting when the least interesting theory involves a murder because of rivalry. The more fascinating theories involve Tupac faking his death or Suge Knight murdering him. The following presents these two theories and the evidence that supports them.
Tupac is still alive:
1.) Tupac changed his rap name to "Makaveli." Nicolo Machiavelli was an Italian war strategist who wrote about faking one's death to fool his enemies. Tupac was an avid reader of Machiavelli and had read his books several times.
2.) Tupac was cremated the day after he died. There was no reported autopsy even though he was murdered. Why was the evidence not even investigated and destroyed so quickly?
3.) In spite of his "death," Tupac has completed two movies, three LP's and continues to appear on other artists' albums. Merchandise sales skyrocket after an artist is killed. Perhaps Tupac completed all this work so that he could release them after his faked death in order to cash in on the controversy surrounding it. Or perhaps he continues to work and cash in on his "death."
4.) On the cover of Tupac's latest album (under the name Makaveli), Tupac is depicted on a cross. His next move as a Christ figure is a resurrection.
5.) Las Vegas is known as a "payoff city," meaning that many people, including doctors and press, could have been in on Tupac faking his death.
6.) On the latest Makaveli album, the producer is listed only as "Simon." This was the apostle who helped Jesus carry the cross and was one of the first to witness his resurrection. Suge Knight could be "Simon."
7.) The Seven Day Theory. This is a numerological theory that suggests that Tupac will return seven years after his death. The number seven keeps popping up in the events that surrounded his death. He was shot seven days after "All Eyez on Me" was released. He was shot on Sept. 7 and survived for seven more days. The title of his new album is "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory." Also, on track five, the voice at the beginning says: "And if the Lord returns in the coming seven days, then we'll see ya next time."
8.) Tupac switching his rap name to Makaveli is a partial rebirth in itself. For example, Tupac dies in his last video "I Ain't Mad at Ya." His next video, "Toss it Up," was under the name Makaveli. It is as if Tupac died and Makaveli was born.
9.) In "Toss it Up," Tupac is wearing Penny Hardaway sneakers that were not available at the time of his death. Also, in the "Live & Die in L.A." video, Tupac jumps into a car while wearing Air Jordans that were also not available when he died.
10.) The lyrics from the song "Life of an Outlaw" from the 7 Day Theory album suggest that Tupac planned his fake death in advance and is now enjoying his success because of it: "All for the street fame on how to be managed, 6 months in advance to what we plotted, approved to go on sale and now I got it."
11.) Tupac always wore a bulletproof vest but for some reason the night of the shooting, he was not wearing one.
12.) The memorial services that were opened to the public were cancelled in both L.A. and Atlanta.
13.) The vehicle that Tupac and Suge Knight were in during the shooting was shot twelve times, yet Knight was not even hit once. Instead, he was "grazed" by a bullet.
14.) The "white Cadillac" containing the assailants was never found. How come there was no helicopter chase involving the Las Vegas Police Department? Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert; is it that hard to find one car?
15.) The video of the song "Smile" by Scarface and Tupac (Makaveli) shows a car just like the one Tupac was shot in, with bullet holes in it, and Makaveli being crucified on a cross.
Tupac is dead:
Response to #2: Tupac did receive an autopsy and this is proven in the one black and white autopsy photo that is around the Internet. One can tell that it is real because the tattoo on his arm is in the right place.
Response to #3: The reason Tupac completed so much in such a short amount of time was because he was planning on leaving Death Row Records and starting his own label, Makaveli Records. He was planning on releasing all those LP's under Makaveli so he could earn more money. Unfortunately, Suge Knight had him killed so he could get the profits instead.
Response to #4: This was simply a stunt by Death Row to reap more profits from Tupac's death and to add to the publicity that he was still getting.
Response to #5: Las Vegas is a "payoff city," and Suge Knight used this to his advantage in his conspiracy to murder Tupac.
Response to #7: Death Row Records made up the Seven-Day Theory to get more publicity surrounding Tupac's upcoming releases.
Response to #9: Tupac is dead and his double is doing his new videos. Obviously if it is not Tupac, he can wear whatever shoes he wants.
Response to #11: Suge Knight was caught on surveillance cameras telling Tupac to take off his vest because it was hot. Why would he not want him wearing the vest unless he intended to have him shot?
Response to #12: This could have simply been a request by family or friends.
Response to #13: This only suggests that Suge Knight had Tupac killed. Obviously he would not want to be shot during the ordeal.
Response to #14: This shows the magnitude of the conspiracy that Suge Knight orchestrated. There was no helicopter chase because the LVPD was in on it.
Response to #15: "Makaveli" in this video is simply a look-alike. He never looks directly at the camera.
There are plenty of other theories on both sides, some that seem to be a little ridiculous. Yet, it is still interesting that when one of the rappers on Tupac's new label was going to cooperate with the police concerning evidence about the murder, he turned up dead. Some also say that in the first three seconds of the Makaveli album, someone says "Suge shot him."
The list could go on practically forever. Many say that 2003 is the time that Tupac will come back, following the 7-Day Theory. In any case, the murder of Tupac Shakur is one of the most fascinating and well orchestrated murders in history.
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