In 1996, Shakur was shot and killed while sitting in a car with his manager Marian Hugh “Suge” Knight, who survived the attack. Six months later, in 1997, his rival Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) was gunned down and killed. No one has ever been charged for either murder.
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The documentary, which centers around one of the most notable beefs in rap music/industry history, comes right in the midst of hoopla surrounding another crime documentary from the streaming service: Making a Murderer, the 10-part series that swept the nations with revelations about Steven Avery, who spent decades in jail for a crime he did not commit. Since its release, the documentary has sparked public uproar of sorts surrounding the facts of Avery’s latest case.
Many theories have been tossed about as to what actually happened the evening Tupac was killed, and who may have been responsible for his murder. But, in the documentary, Kading blatantly alleges that Diddy — a music producer, rapper, actor, and entrepreneur now worth upwards of $700 million — paid Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis $1 million to kill both Shakur and Knight. After Knight literally dodged a bullet, the doc alleges he retaliated by paying another rival gang member to murder Wallace.
How was Kading involved? He was part of a special task force set up to re-investigate the shootings back in 2006. These were prompted by a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Wallace’s mother against the City of Los Angeles, who was alleging police involvement and/or cover-ups in her son’s death. It was during these investigations that Kading says he uncovered details of Comb’s alleged involvement. He particularly pinpoints an alleged confession from Davis himself, which was reportedly given in exchange for other serious charges being dropped against him for unrelated crimes.
Most interesting about the documentary is that it isn’t new: it was actually released in 2015, but flew largely under the radar. Kading also wrote a book of the same name with the same claims in 2011, which he ended up self-publishing after the original publisher reportedly backed out over “legal concerns.”
Murder Rap will debut on Netflix this spring. The LAPD has not commented on the doc, nor has Combs, or Knight — who is currently serving jail time on unrelated charges. Combs did tell LA Weekly back in 2011 when Kading’s book was originally released that the former officer’s allegations were “pure fiction and completely ridiculous.”
Whatever you believe to be the truth, it’ll be interesting to see how viewers react. Making a Murderer has sparked protests and petitions of all kinds, reigniting the Avery case, and prompting a new legal team and the Midwest Innocence Project to take on his case. Might Murder Rap stir up similar pushback and finally bring justice and closure for both murders, and the surviving family members?
Kading, for his part, suggests that the cases are solved, even ending his book by acknowledging that while his story may never actually hold up in a court of law, perhaps it at least will in the “court of public opinion.”
