Tupac Shakur Murder Trial Begins 30 Years After Rapper’s Death

The trial of a former gang leader accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur finally began on Monday, 30 years after one of America’s most high-profile unresolved killings.

The proceedings, expected to last a month, will likely not make clear who fired the shots that killed the California hip-hop legend on the night of September 7, 1996, while he was in Las Vegas to see a Mike Tyson boxing match.

But prosecutors aim to show that the defendant, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, onetime leader of the South Side Compton Crips, ordered the killing and provided the gun used to kill Shakur in a drive-by shooting.

The trial began Monday with jury selection, a process expected to last through the week.

Davis, 63, appeared in court wearing a light-blue shirt and blue tie. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, is one of America’s most celebrated cold cases, prompting endless debate among music fans over who did it and why.

The rapper, who died at age 25, was a key figure in a hip-hop rivalry pitting the East Coast against the West Coast.

Known for hits like “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me,” Shakur — the son of a Black Panther — was raised in Harlem and Baltimore, but quickly became the epitome of a California bad boy when he signed with Los-Angeles based Death Row Records.

The trial will revisit the battle between Death Row, founded by Marion “Suge” Knight, and Bad Boy Records, the East Coast label created by Sean “Diddy” Combs and starring Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace (murdered in March 1997).

Prosecutors say Death Row Records was protected by Mob Piru, a Los Angeles gang that was part of the wider Bloods alliance. Knight was affiliated with the group.