Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American music 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.
Afeni Shakur Davis was an American political activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur was the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and the executor of his estate. She founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and also served as the CEO of Amaru Entertainment, Inc., a record and film production company she founded.
Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an 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.
Duane Martin is an American actor. He began his career while appearing on numerous television sitcoms before portraying Robert James on the UPN/The CW sitcom All of Us (2003–2007) and also starring in the police-procedural series L.A.'s Finest as Detective Ben Baines. Martin also appeared in many films throughout his career including White Men Can't Jump (1992), Above the Rim (1994), The Inkwell (1994), The Faculty and Woo, Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Ride or Die (2003), and The Seat Filler (2004).
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his role as Motaw in the Jeff Pollack film Above the Rim (1994), prior to portraying high school football player Julius Campbell in the Walt Disney Pictures film Remember the Titans (2000) and Jimi Hendrix in the Showtime television film Hendrix (2000). He attained further recognition for his portrayal of drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama The Wire (2002–2008). Harris also played the role of cocaine dealer Ace, based on the life of Azie Faison, in the crime film Paid in Full in 2002.
Ronald "Flip" Murray is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for Al Mouttahed Tripoli of the Lebanese Basketball League. He is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 200 lb point guard–shooting guard. After attending Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia, where he starred on the basketball team, he played college basketball for four seasons, first at the Meridian Community College in Meridian, Mississippi, from 1997 to 1999, and then at Shaw University located in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 2000 to 2002. He is nicknamed "Flip" by childhood friends who often said he looked like Bernie Mac's character, "Flip", from the movie Above The Rim.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
Jamal Joseph is an American writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and educator. Joseph was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. He was prosecuted as one of the Panther 21. He spent six years incarcerated at Leavenworth Penitentiary.
"I Ain't Mad at Cha" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from Shakur's fourth studio album, All Eyez on Me (1996). It was released on September 15, 1996 two days after Shakur's death as the album's fourth and final single. The song features contemporary soul singer Danny Boy providing vocals for its hook and was written by Shakur, Danny Boy and Daz Dillinger, who produced the song using a sample from DeBarge's "A Dream". The lyrics focus on Shakur reminiscing about past friends, love interests and associates he has lost touch with. The song is widely considered one of Shakur's best with Cheo Hodari Coker calling it "possibly the best song 2Pac has ever recorded". In 1998, The Source ranked the song's three verses second in its category of "dopest verses" in the history of hip-hop.
"Temptations" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur (2Pac) from his third studio album, Me Against the World (1995). It was released as a single in the US on August 29, 1995, and was released as a CD, cassette, and 12" promo. While rapping is solely performed by Shakur, Erick Sermon and producer Easy Mo Bee are also featured in the song primarily as background vocalists. The song uses the bassline from the "Computer Love", and the theme focuses on relationship and infidelity issues. Debuting at number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, the song did fairly well in the United States. It was also well received by critics, with many writers commenting on its romantic tone.
"Who Shot Ya?" is a song by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., backed by Sean Combs. Bad Boy Entertainment released it on February 21, 1995, on an alternate reissue of Wallace's single "Big Poppa/Warning". Its new B-side "Who Shot Ya", a revision of a track already issued earlier in 1995, was "controversial and hugely influential." Widely interpreted as a taunt at Tupac Shakur, the single provoked a "rap battle" between the two rappers, formerly friends.
"Holler If Ya Hear Me" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second solo studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993). It was released on February 4, 1993 as the album's lead single. The track is an anthem of resistance. Frustrations with black poverty, police injustice, and Tupac's perceived persecution from political figure Dan Quayle fuel the majority of the track. The song is autobiographical in nature, referring to various traumas experienced by Tupac himself, and the editor of Vibe was quoted in Time magazine as stating that the song struck a chord with a large section of disaffected youth.
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.
Jamal "Gravy" Woolard is an American actor and rapper. He portrayed rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in the film Notorious, and reprised the role as a supporting character in the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me.
Johnny Lee Jackson was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me, as well as 2Pac's posthumously released albums. He was born in Juárez, Mexico, in 1969 and raised in South Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment Corp.
Franklin Martin was an American documentary film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known for his sport documentaries Walking on Dead Fish in (2008) and Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story in 2012. He founded and ran the production company Dutchmen Films based in Los Angeles. He died of glioblastoma in New York on December 1, 2018.
Jeffrey Ian Pollack was an American film director, screenwriter, television producer and writer.
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 Las Vegas, Nevada. The shooting occurred when the car carrying Shakur was stopped at a red light at East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane.
All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom. 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 Tupac, 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 gang member. He was charged with involvement in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
