A new documentary may provide clues as to the now 21-year old mystery as to who shot famed rapper, Tupac Shakur. Snapped: Notorious Tupac Shakur will air on the Oxygen Channel, Sunday, September 10 at 6 p.m. EST.
Shakur, known to the rap community as 2Pac and also as Makaveli, was shot September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas after attending the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing contest in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 25-year old hip-hop artist would die six days later from the injuries he sustained after four bullets entered his body.
The two-hour documentary will feature interviews from close friends who last saw him alive.
Shakur's first manager Leila Steinberg. TMZ has obtained a copy of the trailer video which shows the famed rapper lying in a hospital bed with his finger shot off, nodding his head when asked if he knew who shot him.
How it all went down
The night of the shooting a hotel security camera the MGM Grand captured footage of a fight that broke out between members of Shakur's entourage to include producer Suge Knight, and Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson an alleged member of the west coast gang, the Cripps.
Shakur and his crew went to eat after the fight and were later stopped by police on the Las Vegas strip for failure to produce license plates and for playing music too loudly from the vehicle. They were released without being ticketed.
Less than ten minutes later a white Cadillac pulled alongside Shakur's vehicle and opened fire.
The rapper was hit four times to include two shots in the chest, one of the bullets penetrated his lung. He also received shots to the hand and thigh. Anderson was listed as a suspect but never charged. He died less than two years later in an unrelated gang shooting.
East vs. West
Shakur was very vocal in the east-coast vs. west-coast rivalry that highlighted the rap industry in the 1990s. Several months before his death Shakur released a song entitled "Hit 'Em Up." The artist laid claims to having sexual intercourse with the wife of his biggest rival on the east coast, 'The Notorious BIG," Chris Wallace.
The rivalry between Shakur and his team at Death Row records on the west and Wallace and Bad Boy on the east was the focal point of the feud.
Wallace died six months later, also from gun shot wounds. His death is thought to have been retribution for that of Shakur's. Neither murder has been solved.
Shakur was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.
