Undoubtedly one of  the most influential artists in hip-hop ever, 2Pac was no stranger to rivalries and he surrounded himself with some pretty bad company including the well-known real-life gangster and definitely to-be-feared Suge Knight.

Knight was in the car with 2Pac the night he was shot

The year was 1996

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[source](https://netstorage-legit.akamaized.net/images/vllkyt6lvsbu97id9.jpg)</center>

His musical stylings were definitely rooted in gangster rap, but the thing that set him apart is that he also approached social issues such as poverty and drug addiction rather than simply talking about "bitches, violence, and money" which was and is the main focus of most gangster rap.  Although Pac's music focused on being a gangster, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that he was more of the studio-type gangster than an actual one.  I say this because he had a pretty good upbringing and was actually a very good student:  He was an accomplished actor appearing in Shakespearean plays and even doing ballet in the Nutcracker (hard to believe, isn't it?)  

However, it was in hip-hop and rap where he (obviously) shined

<center>  ![81y8N1Dq+DL._SL1500_.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNXz1GJbUxaBRZthsMi4dHmXsvS6XUPKWhF5uUMZSprpD/81y8N1Dq+DL._SL1500_.jpg)
[source](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81y8N1Dq%2BDL._SL1500_.jpg)
<sub> selling 5 million copies, this is considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time and it would be Shakur's last</sub> </center> 

Although he did hit the scene in a very minor way as early as 1988, it wasn't until the early 90's that he truly rose to fame.  In 1992 he started acting, appearing in the movie "Juice" and would later co-star in the critically acclaimed film "Poetic Justice" opposite Janet Jackson.  

He was at the height of his career in 1996, but although the crime has not officially been solved, there is a great deal of information that leads people to believe that the hit was gang related.  It all goes back to a spat between Shakur and someone named Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson.  Pac and his entourage attacked and embarassed Anderson in the lobby of a Mike Tyson fight venue and 3 hours later, Pac had been shot.  

There is also a lot of information that ties this drive-by back to Puff Daddy and Biggie - and it is rumored, but not proven, that Shaun "Diddy" Combs  put a $1 million dollar hit on Pac and Suge Knight.    There is a recorded conversation by someone claiming to have been in the car, stating that "Anderson fired the shots that killed 2Pac."  

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[source](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/jh-composite-tupac-bmw-e1489321789748.jpg?strip=all&w=570&h=403&crop=1)
<sub> The BMW that 2Pac was riding in that fateful night </sub> </center>
It all wouldn't matter though because Anderson would later be killed in a gang shooting just a few years later.  Maybe it was tied to this, maybe it wasn't.  Nobody knows and I think the book is kind of closed on that one.  

2Pac was constantly told off by his security detail because when traveling in public he is supposed to wear his bullet-proof vest, but on this night, despite having just gotten into a fist-fight with a known gang member, he refused to wear it.  It would have saved his life if he had.  

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[source](https://i1.wp.com/2paclegacy.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2Pac-Last-Photo-Suge-Knight-BMW-Las-Vegas-September-7-1996.jpg?resize=768%2C477&ssl=1)
<sub> last known photo of Shakur </sub></center> 

2Pac managed to hang on to live for an additional 6 days after being shot 4 times.  He died on 13-Sep

The fact of the matter is that someone definitely does knows who killed 2Pac, because there was an group of 10 cars in Pac's entourage that night.   Suge Knight later is on the record saying the he "did not know who had shot Shakur but would never tell officers if he did."   I believe this is called "street code" and everyone who was there that day is definitely adhering to it.