Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Death Row Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and 2Pac, during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US$100 million a year.
Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an African American gang member suspected in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Anderson belonged to the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Detective Tim Brennan of the Compton Police Department filed an affidavit naming Anderson as a suspect; he denied involvement and was never charged. Anderson's uncle, Duane Keith Davis, was charged with Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023.
Biggie & Tupac is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the murdered American rappers Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur by Nick Broomfield.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States during the 1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast–based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur with Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. The feud reached its peak between 1994 and 1997, and culminated in the murders of both rappers in drive-by shootings. Although several suspects have been identified, both murders remain unsolved.
Stephen T. Owens is a civil trial lawyer in Los Angeles, California with the law firm of Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin. Previously, Owens was a partner in the international law firms of Squire Patton Boggs and Graham & James LLP for approximately 39 years. Owens has represented many major U.S., Japanese, Chinese and other international corporations and financial institutions, including Bridgestone Co., EchoStar/Dish Network, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toyota Tsusho, China Airlines, Volaris Airlines, Mexicana Airlines, Union Bank, N.A., and Bank of Tokyo/Mitsubishi-UFJ, notable Southern California companies, including Knotts Berry Farm, Bauer Pottery Company of Los Angeles, King Taco and El Gallo Giro, as well as various governmental bodies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the California cities of Los Angeles, Pomona, West Covina, Montebello, Buena Park, Chico and Yountville, the County of San Bernardino, city councilmembers of various cities, and municipal redevelopment agencies. In addition to his trial work in the fields of international trade, finance and real estate, he has acted as litigation counsel to a number of noteworthy individuals in the entertainment and sports world, including LeBron James, Rick James, the Estate of Tupac Shakur and Big Joe Turner.
Sanyika Shakur, also known by his former street moniker Monster or Monster Kody, was an American author and former gangster. He was a member of the Los Angeles-based Eight Tray Gangster Crips. He got his nickname as a 13-year-old gang member when he beat and stomped a robbery victim until he was disfigured. Shakur claimed to have reformed in prison, joined the Republic of New Afrika movement, and wrote a 1993 memoir called Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.
Tupac Assassination: Conspiracy or Revenge is a documentary film about the unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur produced by Frank Alexander, a Shakur bodyguard who was with the rapper at the time of the shooting, produced and directed by Richard Bond.
The Killing of Tupac Shakur is a biographical, true crime account by American journalist and author Cathy Scott of the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The book made news upon its September 1997 release, on the first anniversary of Shakur's death, because of an autopsy photo included in its pages. It was the first book to be released covering the rapper's death. The book was reprinted in the UK by Plexus Publishing and in Poland by Kagra. Coverage of the autopsy photo, taken of Shakur's body on a gurney in the coroner's examining room, catapulted the book onto the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. New editions of the book were released in 2002 and 2014.
Charles Alan Philips is an American writer and journalist. He is best known for his investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and 2000s, which garnered both awards and controversy. In 1999, Philips won a Pulitzer Prize, with Michael A. Hiltzik, for their co-authored series exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.
On September 7, 1996 at 11:15 p.m. (PDT), Tupac Shakur, a 25-year old American rapper, was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The shooting occurred when the car carrying Shakur was stopped at a red light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane.
RedruM 781 was an American rapper from Inglewood, California. RedruM 781, Tweedy Bird Loc and producer Ronnie Phillips organized hip hop project Bloods & Crips, collaboration between Bloods and Crips members. He is a Piru gang member himself. redruM 781 is also known for his key role on "Bangin' on Wax", he and his fellow female MC Bloody Mary were the two key players for getting this particular Bangin' on Wax project off the ground. He was the cousin of the rapper Kurupt, with whom they had a long-time beef.
Christopher Wallace, an American rapper known professionally as the Notorious B.I.G., was assassinated in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. He was 24 years old.
Timothy M. Brennan and Robert Ladd joined the Compton Police Department as officers in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1988, they were promoted to become Compton's two-man gang unit. The police department could only afford to have two people at the time, even though many smaller cities typically had up to four times as many. As the gang unit, Brennan and Ladd were responsible for dealing with and investigating over fifty-five gangs in the 10.1 square mile area that make up the City of Compton. They have served as the primary or assisting investigating officers on hundreds of gang-related murders and thousands of gang-related shootings, and witnessed instances of gang-related rapes, robberies, drive-by shootings, and shootings at police officers.
All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom and written by Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez, and Steven Bagatourian. Titled after the 1996 studio album, as well as the song of the same name, it is based on the life and death of the titular American rapper Tupac Shakur. The film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Shakur, with Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper, and Danai Gurira. Jamal Woolard reprises his role as Christopher "Biggie Smalls" Wallace / The Notorious B.I.G. from Notorious (2009).
Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is an American member of the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips who is charged with first-degree murder in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
Wardell Fouse, also known by his aliases Darnell Bolton and Poochie, was a Bloods gang member who was implicated in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Since Fouse was deceased by the time his alleged involvement became known to the investigating police, no charges were filed against him.
The Mob Piru are a "set" of the Piru gang alliance, which is itself part of the larger Bloods alliance. Suge Knight, the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, is a member. Las Vegas police
On April 3, 2002, Alton "Buntry" McDonald, a member of the Mob Piru Bloods and a production manager at Death Row Records, was shot dead at a gas station in Compton. The murder was believed to be the result of fighting between two rival "sets" of the Bloods, the Mob Pirus and the Fruit Town Pirus.
The Fruit Town Piru are a "set" of the Piru gang alliance, which itself is part of the larger Bloods alliance. This Piru set is known for its rivalry with the Mob Piru Bloods, Fronthood Compton Crips and Park Village Compton Crips during the early 2000s.
