Rap artist Tupac Shakur shot multiple times - September 7th, 1996

On this day in 1996, shortly after 11:00pm, actor and recording artist Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times in Las Vegas while driving to a night club with Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that shines a light on the ups and
downs of everyday history. I'm Gabe Lousier, and today we're

(00:21):
revisiting the untimely death of rapper Tupac Shakur. The day
was Saturday, September seven. Shortly after eleven pm, actor and

(00:41):
recording artist Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times in Las
Vegas while driving to a nightclub with Death Row Records
co founder Marianne Sugar Knight. Shakor was rushed to nearby
University Medical Center, but he died from his wounds six
days later at age A few hours before the shooting,

(01:02):
Shakoor and Knight had attended a heavyweight boxing match between
Bruce Selden and Mike Tyson. After the fight, while walking
with their entourage through the lobby of the MGM Grand,
the group recognized a man named Orlando Anderson. Several months earlier,
in an altercation at the Lakewood Mall in California, Anderson

(01:22):
had stolen a chain and medallion from Trayvon Lane, a
fellow member of Death Row Records. The chain happened to
be a personal gift from Shog Knight, and the loss
of it infuriated him, Shaikor and the rest of Death Row.
When Lane identified Anderson as the man who had snatched
his chain, Shakoor sprang into action, running over to Anderson

(01:44):
and punching him in the face. Moments later, Anderson was
on the ground while Knight and the rest of the
entourage delivered a severe beating. After this fateful encounter, the
group returned to where they were staying at the Luxe
Or Hotel before heading to sug Knights residence, about seven
miles from the Las Vegas Strip. They remained there until

(02:05):
a little before eleven PM, when Shakoor and Knight left
together in a BMW toward Clubs six sixty two. They
were driving east on Flamingo Road toward the club when
they stopped for a red light at Covell Lane, a
half mile from the strip. Suddenly, four women in a
convertible pulled up to the left, having followed Shakor and

(02:27):
Night after spotting them on the strip. When the two
men were distracted, that's when the shooter made his move.
A white Cadillac with four men inside pulled up to
the right of the BMW and opened fire. Night was
grazed in the head by a piece of shrapnel, but
Shakur was hit several times, with one of the bullets
ricocheting up into his lung. Shakor's killer was never identified,

(02:51):
but many believe Orlando Anderson and his crew carried out
the attack as revenge for what had happened at the MGM.
Grand Suspecting this was the case, Shakor's mother sued Anderson
for her son's death, but the case never went to
trial because Anderson himself was killed two years later in
a shootout at a Los Angeles car wash. In two

(03:13):
thousand nine, the l a. P. D obtained a confession
from Anderson's uncle, Dwane Keith Davis, also known as Keith d. Davis,
claimed that he had given Anderson a gun on the
night of Shaikor's murder and was in the car when
Anderson pulled the trigger. However, with Anderson dead for over
a decade, the confession, whether true or not, was obviously

(03:37):
too late. Although his life was tragically cut short, Tupac
Shakor left a lasting mark on the world of hip hop,
inspiring a new generation of artists and millions of listeners
all over the world. He released four albums while live,
achieving platinum status dozens of times over. Several of his

(03:57):
most celebrated songs were released posthumously, revealing him as a
more contemplative and often tender artist than violent headlines might
suggest to the uninitiated. One such track is The Rose
that Grew from Concrete, which features a recording of Shakor
reading some of his personal poetry. In the closing lines,

(04:17):
Shakor admonishes that quote, you wouldn't ask why the rose
that grew from the concrete had damaged pedals. On the contrary,
we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love
its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses,
this is the concrete, and these are my damaged pedals.

(04:41):
I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. You can
learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook,
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you have any comments or suggestions you can send them
my way at This Day at I heart media dot com.

(05:05):
Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show and thank
you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow
for another day in history class. For more podcasts from
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(05:26):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.