American rapper Tupac Shakur was killed on on September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas when he was just 25.
In a new development, police may have a lead in the unsolved homicide that happened nearly 30 years ago.
Nevada authorities have confirmed they served a search warrant for a home just outside of Las Vegas.
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The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a press release that the home was searched on July 17 “as part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation.”
Before he was fatally shot, Tupac had become one of the most influential figures in the music industry in the ’90s.
While he worked as an actor, Tupac was best known for his rap career which included a discography of popular tracks with powerful lyricism on social justice.
Even today, Tupac’s legacy is still felt in the music industry with the hip-hop icon receiving a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June this year.
Let’s take a look at the rapper’s life and career from his legendary music career to his posthumous impact.
Tupac music career
Tupac’s music gained fame for his transparent rap lyrics about gang culture from his own experiences as a teen growing up in Baltimore’s drug culture.
Tupac, or 2Pac, is behind the hit tracks Changes, Hit Em Up and Dear Mama amongst others.
Across his music career, he won six Grammy Awards and had five albums reach number one.
The rapper first joined the rap group Digital Underground in 1990 where he made his recording debut on their 1991 track, Same Song.
That same year, Tupac signed with Interscope Records as a solo artist and released his first album, 2Pacalypse Now.
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The album was quite political and received criticism from the US Vice President Dan Quayle over the track Soulja Story.
Quayle publicly said that he thought there was ”no reason for a record like this to be released.”
Despite the controversy, Tupac put out his second album in 1993 which debuted at 24 on the Billboard 200.
The next year, Tupac formed the group Thug Life and released their first and only album, Thug Life: Volume 1 which featured the popular track Pour Out a Little Liquor.
Tupac’s third album Me Against the World dropped in 1995 to much success. But it was his next, and last, album that was arguably most career defining.
All Eyez on Me debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and sold more five million copies in its first year alone.
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Tupac’s impact on the music industry
Nearly 30 years after his death, Tupac has created a legacy in the music industry that is persisting to this day.
While his career only spanned around five years, the rapper has become known as one of hip-hop’s most highly regarded.
Tupac was known for his social commentary on the Black community struggles in songs such as Unconditional Love and Brenda’s Got a Baby.
He is still being remembered today with a posthumous induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Snoop Dogg in 2017, as well as a Hollywood Walk of Fame star last month.
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Tupac’s acting career
As well as being a successful rapper, Tupac had a few film credits to his name.
The rapper had attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a teen where he studied acting.
Tupac’s first acting role was in the 1991 film, Nothing But Trouble.
He had his breakout role the next year in the 1992 drama, Juice.
He also appeared in other films in the ’90s such as Poetic Justice, Bullet and Gang Related.
Tupac documentary
On April 21 2023, FX released the docuseries Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur.
The television series, directed by Allen Hughes chronicles the lives of Tupac and his mother Afeni Shakur, who was a Black Panther activist.
The series explored the legacy of Tupac and his mother with interviews from other prolific rappers Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre., as well as Mike Tyson.
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Tupac death
On September 7, 1996, Tupac was one block away from the Las Vegas strip when he was fatally shot in a drive-by.
The rapper had just left a casino where he went to watch Mike Tyson in a prize fight.
While stopped at a red light in his car, Tupac was shot four times in the chest by an unidentified gunman in a white Cadillac.
Tupac was taken to hospital where he then died six days after the drive-by shooting.
The Changes rapper was 25 when he died.
In July 2023, Nevada authorities served a search warrant to a house just outside of Las Vegas as part of the ongoing investigation.
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