Tupac Shakur /// Part 1 /// True Crime Garage | Forensic Files

[music] [music] [music] [music] >> Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks
for listening. I'm your host Nick and with me as always wearing the gold chain, backwards bandana, and of course
the tattoo on his chest that [music] reads frosted mug life. He is the captain. >> I ain't mad at you. It's good to be seen
and it's good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend. [music]
>> Today we are drinking Las Vegas logger with cucumber and lime from Big Dogs Microbrewing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Garage grade three and a half bottle caps out of five. Summer is almost here and it's warming up outside and this is
the perfect beer for the hot summer months. Las Vegas logger is incredibly refreshing and it was brought to us by
some of our very >> good friends. >> You mean [music] our homies? >> Homie. >> Big cheers mates go out to Kate in New
South Wales and Michelle in Victoria in the land down under. Cheers mates. >> Next up a shoutout to Jerry in London
and of course much love from Nick and the captain to everybody in our brother country of England. Stay tough over
there. >> And we have a birthday shoutout from Farah to Marty in Pflugerville, Texas.
>> And a birthday shout from Melissa to her True Crime Garage addict husband, Jason.
Happy birthday, Jason. >> All right, thank you Al Roker. What's the 20 on the traffic?
>> And last but not least, we have to say thank you to Stephanie in the DC area.
>> Stephanie, [music] we like your jib. >> Before we are done with the business though, I have to mention that
unfortunately we can no longer do the birthday shout-outs. [music] >> Mhm. >> Uh we apologize, but we are getting a
ton of them and when we're listening back to the show, we're starting to sound like a morning zoo show
>> [music] >> and I feel like Al Roker. >> He sounds >> So that's got to stop. >> We sound douchier than we sounded
before. >> So we'll we'll do them today and we'll do them tomorrow, but after that we have
to stop before the show becomes known as happy birthday garage. >> Yeah, cuz we're here for beers and blood
and we don't give a [ __ ] about birthdays. >> Well, since you put it that way, Captain. If you want to donate to the
show and buy a round for the two ungrateful guys in the garage, go to truecrimegarage.com
and click on the donate button. >> And for everything truecrimegarage, check out the website
truecrimegarage.com. Also, check out the store page there. We have a couple t-shirts for sale. They'll
probably be sold out this week, so you want to get them now. >> All right, that's enough of the
business. Everybody gather around, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime.
>> [music] >> The press and the media make you think that a black man arming himself is
illegal or criminal or that he wants to arm himself to rob a liquor store or something. You know what I'm saying?
That is for me to defend myself and it should always be. It's just about surviving, you know, and we have to be
honest about the tools that we use to survive. And why is a black life um any any more
recoupable than a white life. You know what I'm saying? We know that they don't put the same security in the ghetto that
they do in the white and and the white neighborhoods. [music] So, therefore, for me to be out here saying, "Don't,
you know, put your guns down and no violence." That's hypocritical. And if I didn't talk about the violence,
everybody would act like the violence wasn't there. We as rappers brought that violence we we brought the violence that
we seen on the street we put in our records put in our records for years. And after 3 4 years people finally
starting to see it because all the statistics that's going on in the streets. If we stop talking about it,
then they wouldn't take statistics. And when they stop taking statistics, then we'd be killing each other in the street
and these white people wouldn't care no more. All the people they only reason they care is cuz, you know, there's been
some strays and then we just slipped over in the white neighborhoods and there's kids in Iowa that want to be
like us. You know what I'm saying? There's kids in and Indiana that's trying to be like us cuz they can relate
to. You know what I'm saying? You even admitted, "I don't live in that neighborhood anymore." There's no real
[music] reason for you to carry a 9 mm. Don't believe that. Why? In the In 2 years I've had a gun pulled
on me by my limo driver, by police, by everybody. You know what I'm saying? And I better be I better be. You know what
I'm saying? I've been attacked. You ain't read the papers about these skinheads trying to blow up black
churches. Why? They see me as the enemy just like y'all do. You know what I'm saying? They can
come to my house and sit outside my house just like anybody else can. A skinhead. And once my life [music] is
gone, it's gone. Can't nobody give it back to me. Not the judge, not the president, not the governor, not Calvin
Butts, not Jesse [music] Jackson. They can't do nothing but come to my funeral and talk pretty about how black people
suffer. And once my life is gone, it's gone. >> [music] >> September 13th, 1996 a crowd of people
gathered outside the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada because of Tupac Shakur.
A rapper almost as famous for his police record as he was for his music. Inside the hospital Tupac was fighting for his
life. Six days earlier he had been shot while riding in a car with his record labels owner.
At a stoplight a car pulled up next to the car that Tupac was in and opened fire.
>> Mhm. >> Tupac was shot four times. And we got to go back and talk about the life of Tupac leading up to the event
here, Captain. So, Tupac was born June 16th, 1971 in East Harlem in a section of New York
City. >> Mhm. >> His mother, Afeni, was an active member of the Black Panther Party
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Now, I'll just refer to him as Tupac or Pac, you know, because we have different name
changes and I don't want things to get confusing. So, Pac's mother, Afeni, along with 20
other members of the Black Panthers, they were arrested in 1969. They called this group the New York 21.
The police said that the group had planned to blow up several places in New York. It sounds like all of the New York
21 made bail, but while they were out two of the members ran and fled. Well, when this happened authorities began
rounding up the remaining members and Afeni found herself in New York Women's House for Detention.
>> And at this time she's currently pregnant with Tupac Shakur. >> Yeah, she had to get a court order this
allowing her extra food for the pregnancy, but really all it was in addition to what everyone else was
eating was the addition of an egg and a glass of milk each morning. Afeni said that she had never been able
to carry a child past three months of pregnancy, but in the midst of all this, this child stayed. Now, this could be
the first indication that this baby wasn't going to be just your average kid. Afeni, from everything I could tell, was
a very smart lady. Um she did not have any education as far as a law background goes, but she did serve as her own
lawyer. In May of 1971, Afeni and 13 other members were cleared of all charges. So, Tupac was born a
month after she was acquitted. She was cleared of more than 150 charges of conspiracy against the United States
government and New York landmarks in the state of New York. >> Well, let's be clear, especially in New
York City, the Black Panther Party was known for feeding the Black Community and uh school children. So, just because
there was possibly these terrorist threats, doesn't mean that she had any involvement. And like you said, she was
acquitted of all charges. >> Tupac said that his mother didn't hide the truth from him, saying she didn't
know who his father was. Tupac would later accept Billy Garland as his father. This was a man that his mother
had a previous relationship with. In the mid '70s, Afeni became involved with Mutulu Shakur. And even though the
couple didn't marry, Mutulu considered himself Tupac's stepfather. Mutulu and Afeni did have a daughter
together. Now, Tupac's stepfather, he ends up he spends 4 years at large on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list,
beginning in 1982. >> Mhm. >> He was wanted for helping his sister escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey
in 1979. She had been in prison since 1977 for killing a state trooper. She was a
fugitive for several years before gaining asylum in Cuba in 1985. Now, in 1986, Mutulu was caught, tried,
and convicted for the robbery of a Brink's armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed.
Sometime in the early '80s, Tupac's mother tried crack cocaine and she did have some drug troubles from time to
time and we'll see this again later throughout his life. So, I think we can say growing up was not easy for Tupac.
There of course were many hurdles for this young man. >> And he's going to get into the arts
pretty early in his life. >> Yeah, in 1983 at the age of 12, Pac's mother signed him up for a theater group
in Harlem. He was cast as Travis Younger, uh the character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed
at the Apollo Theater. So, this is this is a big deal. Uh in 1985 >> Right, I think he uh
performed when Jesse Jackson was running for president. >> Now, in 1985, the family ended up moving
to Baltimore, Maryland. It was there that Tupac enrolled in the Baltimore School for the Arts, uh where he
basically studied everything. I mean, acting, poetry, music, you name it. Uh I believe this is where he developed a
close friendship with Jada Pinkett, uh later Jada Pinkett Smith. I know that he was long-time friends
with Jada and that was no surprise to me when we started looking at this case and
who Tupac is or was and I knew that he had a tough time growing up, but I really didn't know how schooled and
educated he was in the arts from such a young age. I found that incredibly surprising.
Um I found a quote that that is it's a bit of a sad one, but I think it would it helped me understand some of his
drive. Uh Tupac said, "I didn't like my life, but through acting I could become somebody else." So, I think that tells
you a lot of what's going on in his world and what got him to focus on these these more positive aspects.
>> In 1988, Tupac's mother's still battling her addiction with crack cocaine and
she's actually in a abusive relationship. So, she's going to send her son and her daughter off to live
with their godmother in California. >> Tupac would point to this moment as quote as the point where I got off
track. Uh later Afeni would follow the kids to California. It sounds to me like the godmother had her own
uh battles with going on. She She had some alcoholism, I think, that was going on. There It was not a perfect situation
to send your kids to. >> Well, and what Tupac had stated in multiple interviews was, "Oh, yeah. So,
my mom had all these issues. Then she sends us to California. Oh, by the way, my godmother had all the same issues."
You know, abusive relationship, addicted to drugs. >> Tupac would eventually drop out of
school, uh but he did have a chance meeting in a park with Leila Steinberg, a young writer, teacher, and music
producer. Uh it's through this connection that Pac gets to try out for a group called the
Digital Underground, uh who was a fantastic rap group. Everybody probably remembers the hit the Humpty Dance. I
once got busy in a Burger King bathroom. Thank you, Captain. I was a fan of the Digital Underground. And if you YouTube
same song by Digital Underground, >> you'll actually see Tupac in that video. >> Well, after this, this must be like
1991. So, Tupac is in his first movie. This is hilarious because I loved this movie. This is Digital Underground
Underground and Pac, of course. This was the movie Nothing but Trouble. The group In the movie, the group is
pulled over for speeding and they have to appear before a judge. The judge is Dan Aykroyd. And when in court, they
performed their song titled Same Song with the judge joining in eventually on keyboards.
Um this movie had Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, and the late great John Candy in it. Uh so, after this, Tupac broke out
on his own. He's now like he's now 20 and in late 1991 >> Yeah, the the the record that he's going
to come out with is 2Pacalypse Now. >> Yeah, and around this same time, he's going to get cast in a much bigger role
in what, according to critics, is probably considered a much better movie. Not not me, because I love Nothing but
Trouble. But he is cast in a better movie as the or as as the captain would say, the film, a film called Juice. Uh,
so that's kind of a good review of Tupac's early life and his break into fame. But Pac was not just famous for
his music and acting. Um, once he started getting famous, he had run-ins with the law and he also had
an attempt on his life. Now, the first story that I could recall with Tupac and the police, well, this is
a nasty one. In the fall >> Well, it's first one once he's famous. >> Mhm. The first In the fall of 1991,
uh, police stopped him in downtown Oakland, California. Now, he's stopped for jaywalking. This shouldn't probably
shouldn't be a very big deal, right? >> Probably shouldn't stop him. >> But but the story I heard is that Pac
showed three forms of ID to the two officers that had stopped him. >> Mhm. >> But the officers refused to believe that
Tupac Shakur was his real name. Pac ends up losing his temper and he wants to know why it took two officers
to stop him for something as simple as jaywalking. >> Mhm. >> Um, and then shortly after there's a
verbal altercation, to put it nicely. Um, the officers then grabbed him and one puts him in a chokehold. He's taken
down to the concrete. Pac says that when he woke up from the attack, he was cuffed and he was face down in the
street. He was He was only in jail for about 7 hours for this whole thing that went down.
Uh but in December 1991, Tupac filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department.
>> you're missing a little bit of the story. So, once they arrest him on the street and there was a physical
altercation in the street and uh let's just say Tupac probably provoked some of that, right? So, I'm
not going to let him off the hook that easy. But once they got him into the jail,
they beat the living crap out of him. And he had a black eye, he had a bunch of bruises all over his face, and that's
why he pressed charges. >> Yeah, and I think he they were they were pretty brutal to him before that though,
bringing him into the jail where people on the street could see that portion of it go down. So, he files that $10
million lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department, um allegedly saying that they brutally
beat him for jaywalking. Uh Shakur received approximately $42,000 I believe in in settlement money,
um but most of this uh went to pay for his lawyer in this situation. >> Yeah, they basically admitted that
they're wrong and that there was no charges either. So, it's kind of like, you know, nobody wins, nobody loses
there. >> On August 22nd, 1992 in Marin City, uh Shakur performed at an outdoor festival.
And he stayed for an hour afterwards signing autographs and pictures. A confrontation occurred and Tupac pulled
out a legally registered gun and dropped it. Someone picked up the gun and it goes off and a bullet was discharged.
Well, about 100 yards away, a 6-year-old boy on a bicycle at a nearby playground,
he's hit with the bullet. Uh it struck him in the forehead and it killed him. Although Tupac and his stepbrother
Maurice Harding were arrested on suspicion of firing the gun, no charges ended up being filed. Uh the county
prosecutor basically had basically pretty much had no case because of lack of witnesses.
>> Mhm. >> Uh but later a wrongful death lawsuit was brought against Tupac and his label
Interscope uh by the kid's mother. So, under a confidential settlement, and this is the wording from a newspaper
article at the time, a record company for rap star Tupac Shakur has agreed to pay between $300,000 and $500,000 to the
parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed by a stray bullet during a scuffle at an outdoor festival in Marin
City in 1992. Now, attorneys for Tupac and for the parents of the boy, they reached the settlement and in the
lawsuit brought by the dead child's family after several hours of closed-door negotiations
before, you know, before [snorts] any witnesses to the shooting could take the stand.
>> Right. >> The lawyers would not publicly discuss details of this agreement. However,
sources familiar with the agreement said a record firm, whose name they would not
disclose, but we already know is Interscope, will play the will pay the parents more than $300,000 but less than
$500,000 to settle the suit. They would not be more specific about the the amount. In
their opening remarks, lawyers for both sides agreed that the bullet that hit the boy came from a handgun that was
registered to Tupac. >> Right. >> But they gave differing versions of how the shooting took place. Now, the
parents' attorneys told the jury that Tupac was carrying a concealed weapon when a fight broke out. He drew the
weapon, brandished it, but dropped it, and then yelled at Harding to get the gun. Several shots were fired, including
the one that killed the boy. Tupac's lawyer told the jury that Tupac and Harding were attacked by a mob of angry
people, and at one point someone fired a gun over the heads of the crowd to scare
them off. I'm not certain that that's a great defense, but I guess it's that's probably why they ended up settling.
This took place during an outdoor festival, which was among the large longest-running events conducted by
African-Americans in Northern California. The event was not held for years after the boy's death. Now, that
was taken from a newspaper article from 1995, so I'm not sure if or when they may have resumed the annual festival.
In March of 1993, Tupac was arrested for threatening a limo driver in California.
>> Well, and this is a story he brings up often in interviews. He talks about like, "Why why do I need to carry a
gun?" Well, because I've had guns pulled on me in the last several years, and he
always talks about that. "I had a gun pulled on me by a limo driver." Well, if you're making threats, maybe that's why
the gun was pulled on you. >> Mhm. >> Or maybe the gun was pulled on you and then you made threats. I'm not I'm not
really for sure. >> Also in 1993, Tupac was charged with one count of felonious assault. Uh he was
accused of attempting to hit another rapper with a baseball bat at a concert at uh Michigan State University.
The incident reportedly began when Tupac began became angry and threw a microphone. Uh he pled guilty in
September of '94 to a misdemeanor in exchange for the dismissal of the felonious assault charge.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 20 of which were suspended, and he was ordered to perform 35 hours of community
service. >> Well, if there's trouble, you know, Tupac's there. You know, that's what he does.
>> With a baseball bat to straighten out the situation. >> To be fair, I mean, this he was a small
guy. He was what, like 5'8", 5'9"? Uh maybe 150, 160 lbs. >> Yeah, and I I I want to be clear about
something, too, because in a lot of these stories, all right, you know, yes, we're pointing out that he played guilty
or that he was charged with this. Um, there's like we see all the time, there's varying accounts of these stories of
what actually happened, who who was the problem, who was not the problem. >> Well, and yeah, I mean, look, Tupac is
controversial, but I think a lot of his issues came from, I mean, obviously, especially at that time and you're a
celebrity and you're in you're in the gangster rap world, you got a target on your back for trouble.
>> Right. >> Right. So, I I maybe he brought some of this on himself, maybe it was brought
upon him and he had to defend himself. I I don't know. I wasn't there. >> Now, I don't want to sound like some
kind of jackwagon here, but for some reason, I like this next story, but but you got to hear it all the way through
before you judge me, okay? >> Well, I'm already judging you. >> Before you judge me, I
uh in in Atlanta >> We should have never covered the case. We got two uh suburban boys in a garage
covering Tupac. >> In Atlanta in late 1993, Tupac was charged with shooting two off-duty duty
suburban policemen. >> How the hell you like this story? >> Well, I told you, you got to hear it all
the way through before you judge me. See, you you I got one sentence in and you start judging.
>> I'm not mad at you. >> The Atlanta police said that the shooting occurred after two cars
carrying Tupac and his party almost struck the two men and their wives as they crossed the city street.
>> Okay. >> Tupac was arrested at his hotel shortly after the shooting. He was charged with
two counts of aggravated assault and then released on $55,000 bail. Now, Tupac's lawyer said that it appeared
from investigators descriptions of the incident that the two officers started whatever gunplay that it had occurred.
You know, so, we have a who shot first situation. According to some accounts, it was one of the officers who first
drew and possibly fired a gun, although no weapons were recovered. The police say witnesses gave this account of the
incident. Mark Whitwell, uh he's a police officer, and his wife were crossing the street.
>> Mark Whitwell. >> Well, >> what color he is. >> Well, Mark is a police officer, and he
and his wife were crossing an Atlanta street with Whitwell's brother, Scott, who is also a police officer, and his
wife. After the couples were nearly hit by the car, this is the car with Tupac and and his the other car following
them. >> Right. >> Um the two officers were both in civilian clothes at this point. They argued with
the driver and the passengers of the car, as well as the occupants of the second car that had pulled up. So,
according to some accounts, Mark Whitwell pulled out a gun, but it was not clear whether he had fired it.
Witnesses said that Tupac then fired a gun. Three shell casings from a 9-mm pistol were recovered by police.
Now, do you want to hear about the aftermath of this incident? >> Yeah, I'm trying to figure out why you
like this story. >> Okay, we're getting to the part that I like, all right? Okay, it was later
determined that the officers were drunk and in possession of stolen guns. >> Oh, great.
>> Okay, so as they crossed the street, a car with Tupac inside passed them or almost struck them. After arguing, Mark
Whitwell shot at Tupac's car. Tupac then shot one officer in the buttocks. >> [laughter]
>> And then the other he shot the other officer as well, and I think this was in
the leg. There's varying news reports about where he shot the guy. Mark Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at
Tupac's car and later charged for lying to the police during the investigation. Tupac was charged with with the shooting
as well. But the prosecutors eventually dropped all charges against both parties.
>> Oh, really? >> Mhm. Yeah, this is just like a really bad horrible incident where, you know,
drunk people, stolen guns by the police. Um, yeah. >> Cops lying. >> Yeah, unfortunately nobody was seriously
injured or or killed in this incident. Uh, but it's just a whole bunch of of people behaving badly.
Um, Tupac was supposed to be in the movie Menace II Society II. >> Mhm. >> Uh, the directors were twin brothers,
uh, who had directed some of I believe they directed some of Pac's music videos. Uh, but after several fights on
the set with the directors, Pac was fired. Well, he this really upsets Pac and he he storms the set armed with a
baseball bat. >> Right. >> And he goes after both of the twins, after both of the directors. Uh, he was
later found guilty of this assault. >> Well, let's uh, let's just put it out there for the listeners. I mean, were
you a you know, normally there's two camps. There's the Tupac camp or the Biggie camp.
>> Mhm. >> Which camp were you in? >> Um, I have to pick a whole camp? Um, >> Yeah, I I mean, you could like both of
them. I'm just saying, but you'd have to pick one over the other. >> If I guess if I could only choose one, I
was definitely a bigger Notorious B.I.G. fan. >> Mhm. >> Um, I owned more of his music than I did
of the Death Row West Coast guys. Uh, I've always liked Dr. Dre a lot. Uh, so that's it's tough for me to say that. I
don't really think of rap like that, you know, like um, those the gangster rap was never my thing. I always liked kind
of the more out there guys like like Busta Rhymes, uh, the Fugees. I like um, >> Well, we were pretty young. We're also
pretty young at the time. Right >> when like Tupac was coming out and more of a hit. That was like middle
middle school, early high school. >> Yeah, and we were probably still stuck in our grunge phase for a little bit of
that time. >> But okay, so if you had to pick favorite Tupac song, what what would you pick?
>> I'll tell you what. I You know, I only really liked the hits of Tupac, but if I picked one, and this
is one that I would recommend to anybody, because I think this this song shows his talent. You know, like I said,
I'm not big into gangster rap, but uh >> [laughter] >> You sound so white when you say that.
>> But well, yeah. >> I'm not saying that. >> But I like Dear Mama by by Tupac. And
I'll tell you why. Because I think I think you could list like any style of music and still like that song. Like
even if you didn't like rap, I think you could pick up that song and be like, all
right, I get this. I like it. It's that good of a song. >> Well, I'm just throwing this out there
and and I think one of the hardest things to do is to take a song and remake it and make it better than
the original. Right? >> Mhm. >> And one of and a a fabulous artist, a very talented artist, Bruce Hornsby, he
had the song The Way It Is. >> Right. >> And Tupac remade that and made it into Changes.
>> Oh, yeah. >> I personally think that Tupac's song is better. Now, I might get some hate mail
for that, but I think he took a song to the next level. And I think what he's saying is very socially relevant today
as much as it was back then. >> Mhm. >> Another song that is socially relevant probably today too is Keep Your Head Up.
That's another one that you should check out if you're not familiar with his work. But we'll get right back to that
after this quick beer break. >> [music] [music] >> All right, we're back. Cheers, mates.
>> Cheers. Now, I just want to paint a quick picture here for the younger listeners, Captain, because we're only
up to about '93, 1993 in our timeline. And we have a guy that that bust I mean, the guy bust onto the scene, right? He
comes onto the scene in '91. And Tupac, he was you know, we have albums coming out. He's in multiple movies uh in such
a short period of time. This was a guy that became very famous very quickly. >> He almost became It wasn't even just
like, "Oh, well, he's a star." or he's a superstar. He almost became a icon instantly.
>> Yeah, and the the thing that I remember being a younger guy was that it seemed
like over the course of this 2-year period that this guy was just always on TV. Like I said, the the the music, the
the movies. >> Well, and the arrest. >> And the arrest. And that's what it was. You couldn't turn on MTV or you couldn't
turn on the TV without hearing about something that either he he was being accused of or an
achievement that he made as far as his his acting or music career. >> Yeah, his talents.
>> And then he was in such high demand because he became so famous. He was a huge star that everybody wanted to
interview him. So, we have this guy that has these, let's say just, you know, blanket it and say legal troubles. But,
the thing I remember the most about him was that he would do a lot of interviews. And in the legal troubles
always came up during the interview. So, you would get to hear kind of his opinion on some of these things, which
was not something that you always saw with most stars. You know, most stars, if if they're facing some kind of
trouble, they might try to hide from the limelight a little bit. >> Well, All but I don't know how many
stars were facing this much trouble. >> Yeah, well, yeah. That and, you know, he
was a he was a very young man at this point in his life. Um but in I believe in in at least one occasion they had
used some footage from one of his interviews even against him at one of his trials.
>> Yeah, and I also think, you know, uh to paint a picture to it as much as it was, you know, from the
outsider looking in, it would just be uh this guy's a gangster rapper, right? So,
he's he's a thug, right? And he was saying stuff like thug life and stuff. So, he's just
But when you really break down a lot of his interviews, he was saying a lot of things of substance. This This guy was
uh a character of a lot of substance. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah, very very intelligent guy. He might not have always shown that
off of the stage. Um I I think with his legal trouble, what I see here is is a It's like I said earlier, he's a
very young man. I think he was impulsive young man at times, overreacting in situations.
>> Yeah, and I think he was um forthcoming with the idea, "Hey, I'm I'm angry." >> Mhm.
>> You know, uh I grew up in the gutters and nobody helped me, and now that I'm getting something,
I'm I'm angry. >> Mhm. Well, in 1993, this was in November of 1993. Um this was one of his more well-known
legal troubles that he faced. Uh Tupac and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room.
>> Mhm. >> Uh of course, he denied the charges. According to Tupac, he had had prior
relations days earlier with the woman that were consensual. Uh he says that his accuser claimed
sexual assault after her second visit to Tupac's hotel room. And she alleged that
secure Tupac's secure and his entourage had raped her. Um so this thing this thing goes to
trial. Uh the woman testified that she had had consensual oral sex with Tupac at a nightclub uh 4 days earlier.
>> On the dance floor. >> Yes, and we know that be from watching a interview with Arsenio Hall
um where he talked about some of you know some of this case as much as he probably could being that he's still on
trial. >> And possibly more than he should have. >> Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But she she says
that at the hotel room that Tupac wanted to share her with his friends who forced
themselves on her. She said that Tupac and three of his friends they quote set upon
set upon me like animals. >> Mhm. >> Uh as the victim addressed the court now she's talking to the court, right? She's
giving her statements. Tupac stares intensely at her during her statements. Uh he then he gets up and
apologized to her. Uh he went on to say I'm not apologizing for a crime, he added. I hope in time you'll come forth
and tell the truth. Uh the defense said that she had made the accusations out of
jealousy when when she had seen Tupac with another woman. >> Right. >> Now one thing going on here at the
trial, this was a very well-publicized trial. Like the captain said, this is something he spoke about in interviews.
Um so there were a lot of Tupac supporters present at this trial. In fact, at one point a a woman that was in
the courtroom, she leaned over the rail and kissed Tupac on the cheek uh before this is just before a court officer
ordered her back to her seat. I'm I'm surprised she wasn't thrown out of the court completely.
>> Well, again, we we should put this in a little more context though. I mean Yeah, as much as he has, you know, you
know, the gangster rap songs, he also had some very, like we were talking about before, these
socially relevant songs. And one of the songs was Keep Ya Head Up. And and that song was all about It was a very
feminist viewpoint on on everything. >> Mhm. >> Uh and very >> Well, if I remember correctly, that's
the song where it you know, he this Some songs are a story. >> Right. >> Right. And the the if I remember
correctly, this is the song where he talks about the woman she's wearing sunglasses or her glasses and he knows
why she's wearing the glasses because somebody had hit her. >> Yeah, well, he was raised by a single
mother and so it's very, you know, um stay strong, you know, if you're single mother, yeah, you have a lot more to
deal with, but stay strong, it's worth it, you know, your kids are counting on you. And and a lot of stuff too with,
you know, if you're in an abusive relationship, you're worth more than that. And and just things of that
nature. >> Well, on the night of November 30th. Now, this is 1994. Uh this is still
during the trial for the sexual assault charges that Tupac was facing. Tupac was robbed and shot five times by
three men in the lobby of the Quad Recording Studio in Manhattan. >> Mhm. >> Uh Tupac stated that he had believed the
robbery to be a setup uh that he was set up for the attack. And he he even made comments about, you know, they stole
jewelry from me. But why did they leave, you know, my Rolex watch? They didn't take that.
>> Right. >> Uh Tupac, you know, think about this for a second here. He shot five times, right?
>> Right. >> He he very quickly checked out of the Bellevue Hospital Center against
doctor's orders. This was just 3 hours after surgery. Um and then in the day that followed, he
entered the courthouse back at his trial in a wheelchair. >> Yeah. Well, in the the big suspicion
here was, you know, they already had this East Coast-West Coast battle going on. So, a lot of people thought that
East Coast rappers were responsible for this possible hit. But, also the other thing, too, was
uh Tupac, you know, the cops actually thought that they could solve this case, but Tupac
wasn't really that cooperative with them. >> No. No. Uh, in fact, uh well, let's
let's get back to the trial real quick, and we'll go through this this whole attack, because that's a whole
that's a whole other can of worms. Um, in the end, Tupac and his road manager, this is Charles Fuller.
>> Mhm. >> Uh, they were convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. Um, they were acquitted of
weapons and sodomy charges. Uh, Tupac was sentenced to 1 and 1/2 to 4 and 1/2 years in prison for sexually
abusing the they call her a fan. Uh, and he tearfully apologized to his victim. But, even as he apologized, he
said that he had committed no crime. >> Right. And he states this over and over and over and over again in interviews.
>> Mhm. >> So, let's go back to this uh attack uh or the shooting that happened at the in
the recording studio. >> Yeah, and you could almost call this an attempt on his life. To be shot five
times or shot at five times, it almost appears like an attempted murder. >> Mhm.
>> Um, but yes, there was a robbery as well. But, in a 1995 interview with Vibe magazine, uh Tupac accused Sean Combs,
uh better known as Puffy or Puff Daddy, um also Jimmy Henchman and Biggie among others, you know, so there's other
people he accused of this of setting this situation up, um of setting up the attack at the Quad Recording Studios.
Now, eventually the the the magazine would change the names of some of the accused assailants upon publication.
Um so, you know, the it did not they did not implicate Biggie or Puff Daddy in this in this actual
thing, but that's who he was accusing. >> Yeah, but if you're a Tupac fan and you
listen to probably at this time half of his songs he starts saying, "You You guys know
what you did?" >> Mhm. >> "You know, you tried to kill me." He puts it out in songs.
>> Now, I had read some information that said that Biggie had entourage that was
upstairs uh when this incident took place. Um which from the way I understand it, this
is a large This is a took place in a large building. Um now, I I don't know if that's for certain, but the way that
the story goes is that Biggie's entourage, whomever they were, they went downstairs to check out the incident and
Tupac was being carried out on a stretcher by this time and he's basically, you know, he he's being
Tupac. He's He's shouting at everybody. He's angry at the situation. Of course, he's just been shot five times and he's
been and he's giving the finger to anybody in the area. [laughter] Now, I do want to touch upon some things
of here before we get to the the situation that takes place in Las Vegas because there are a lot of people that
believe that these two attacks could be tied in together, that they could have potentially been carried out by the same
person or persons or ordered by the same person or persons. So, in in the Los Angeles Times, this is journalist Chuck
Philips. Now, Philips would later allege that Sean Puffy Combs and Chris Wallace,
better known as Biggie, were aware a week in advance that Tupac would be ambushed in the 1994 shooting in New
York's Quad Recording Studio. Um to this would be two years before he was shot and killed in Vegas.
Uh, and the quote says that they were advised in advance of what was going to happen. Uh, they did not know the
assailants were going to be shooting. In fact, they were told not to shoot. Um, but what had happened apparently was
that when this attack went down, they state that Tupac pulled a gun and went haywire and it was supposed to just be a
severe beating that turned into this this terrible shooting. >> Mhm. Well, again, like we said, there was a
lot of these battle rap songs going on between West Coast and East Coast. A lot of trash talking.
Uh, back but look, Tupac's from New York, Biggie's from New York. Um, Biggie and Tupac were friends for a
while. Uh, Biggie actually opened up for Tupac multiple times. Now, you know, there's a lot of speculation
on why they had the falling out. Uh, possibly with Tupac sleeping with Biggie's wife and things like that. Um,
but as far as their careers go, having that battle between each other and that hype, again, like we said, in
this uh, two three year period, you could not turn on the TV without seeing Tupac Shakur on MTV, MTV News. Same way
with Biggie. Because every time Tupac was doing an interview, he did probably a a hundred times more interviews than
Biggie, but every time he's bringing up Biggie's name. >> Yeah, if if there were going to be an
Elvis of rap, you could put Tupac and Biggie as the one A and one B. You know, depending on who you talk to, that was
the biggest guy. That was the king of hip hop. >> All right, so who was trying to get at
one of the kings, right? Who was trying to get at Tupac? >> So, in Philip's article, he also alleges
that the main mastermind behind Tupac's setup was that Jimmy the henchman guy. Remember we mentioned him earlier, but
>> But he has connections to Puff Daddy. >> Correct. And and he it's it's Jimmy Henchman Rosemond is is what I I don't I
don't believe any of that is his full real name. >> [laughter] >> Um but basically uh
>> I'm in the wrong business, man. >> It states that Phillips, the the writer of the article, had arrived at this
conclusion after years of delving into the incident. He had talked to men who he believed were directly involved in
the shooting and had uncovered papers documenting uh the incident from an an FBI investigation.
>> Mhm. >> Whose findings coincide with what the article was stating. Now, the the FBI
talked to some criminals, according to these documents, and these criminals said that Jimmy Henchman was involved.
Um I do I do want to be clear here though because um it this they would later the the Los
Angeles Times would later retract this article. >> Mhm. >> Um because I think they I think some of
the >> were afraid they were going to get sued. >> Well, yeah, because I think it came into
question how he may have um uncovered some of this evidence and where he received some of these
documents from. >> Mhm. >> Or how it yeah, yeah. >> It The rumor is this, that he received
them from a guy that had told some stories in the past and might have forged some things in the past. So, when
you receive documents from this guy, you got to wonder, did he forge these particular documents themselves?
>> Right. >> Now, years later we have this this person Dexter Isaac. Um he he was
serving life in prison without parole for multiple murders and and armed robberies.
Um apparently he was working on releasing a book detailing his life in New York City, you know, on the streets
of New York City as a hitman and as muscle for uh this Jimmy Henchman Roseman guy that we've been talking
about. Uh um Uh so apparently Jimmy Henchman at some point finds his way into prison as well, serving quite a bit
of time, maybe even life for drug trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering. So we're seeing a lot
of >> Too bad Puffy didn't go with him. >> Well, we're seeing a lot of bad dudes
uh that are rumored to have been involved in this setup that Tupac was talking about.
>> it was interesting that he didn't want to cooperate with the police, but but I
know that's that's different. It's a different time, and it's also a different uh lifestyle.
>> Uh the attack the attack itself went like this according to Dexter. He says that Jimmy the Henchman had approached
him and some of his associates. And they ordered he ordered them to rob Tupac when he got to the studio that evening.
Dexter says he was paid $2,500 cash to carry this out. >> Mhm. >> Uh Jimmy told Dexter not to shoot Tupac,
uh but to catch him by surprise and pistol-whip him, and then kick him around for a little bit and take his
biggest diamond ring. >> Mhm. >> Uh Dexter said that he saw Puff Daddy immediately after that conversation. He
saw Puff with Jimmy, and stating that he made eye contact with Puffy. >> All right, so then he took him out to
dinner and they they made love all night. What What was the point? He So he made eye contact with uh Powder Puff
Daddy. >> Well, what I what I think he's stating here is that he's saying, you know, I
was hired to carry out this robbery, to to go attack Tupac. Um and before we get too far in this, I
do want to mention there are some accounts out there. We talked about Tupac being shot five times. There are
some accounts according to certain witnesses that Tupac might have accidentally shot himself once or twice
during this altercation. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Right. >> But but come on. You're getting attacked and then you
pull a gun out and you end up shooting yourself. >> Like I said >> You shouldn't be carrying a gun if
that's what's going to happen. >> I don't know for certain, but according to some witnesses, they think that he
might have shot himself once or twice. >> Okay, we >> But but what does this have to do with
Puffy? Is what you wanted to know. >> Yeah, but the thing is is this is now the second altercation that we know of
that he pulls a gun on and there's accidental shootings. >> Right. >> And and again, too. 2,000 bucks. Hey, I
want you go into the studio and and rob Tupac. I want you to get his biggest diamond ring. I'll give you two grand.
Two grand? Really? >> It seems a little >> people up with baseball bats. >> It seems a little light, too, for a guy
that that was pretty vocal about always carrying a gun or a firearm, you know, you would
>> Right. >> I would assume if I were this Dexter Isaac. But but then again, this Dexter
Isaac guy's serving life in prison. So maybe he's not all there. Maybe the elevator didn't go all the way up. Or
maybe he just don't give a [ __ ] >> Right. >> And the thing is >> Did you just cuss for the first time on
the show? >> We're breaking down walls here. >> Wow, man. We We start talking about
Biggie and Tupac, you get gangster. >> You get real gangster [laughter] up in here. Okay, so let's get back to
Pow- Powderpuff Daddy, right? >> Okay, so how does this all tie in? >> can't tell, I don't like him.
>> Um well, this is These are just statements according to this Dexter Isaac guy, right? So basically what he's
saying is that shortly after he's hired by Jimmy, like just minutes after he's he we have this conversation, he hires
him to take out this attack on Tupac, that he sees Puff Daddy with this same guy that just ordered it.
>> Right. >> Meaning that the guy that ordered it could be some kind of middleman for Puff
Daddy. Um so basically he's >> Wouldn't put it past him, though. I wouldn't put it past him.
>> Well, Dexter claims His claims basically kind of confirm what other people were already believing
at the time that Puff Daddy was at least aware of this plan. Now, Dexter says that there's no way that Biggie or any
of Junior Mafia were there that night because he because he knew Puff Daddy. >> Right.
>> And he knew when he went into the studio that none of these other dudes were around.
He sees Puff Daddy with this Jimmy guy that night and that's that's what he states.
>> All right, so Powder Puff Daddy is maybe the go-between guy to order the hit, is what you're saying.
>> Right. And then let's be clear. I'm I'm a big Biggie fan. I'm big Tupac fan, big
Biggie fan. >> I think you can be fans of both. I don't think you have to choose a side here.
Um >> Well, I'm choosing a side that I don't like Powder Puff Daddy. >> That's fine. We'll we'll we'll go with
that. >> Right. >> Um so, but so he he goes and describes this incident in some detail. Um he says
that the initial head wound that Tupac suffered was because of Dexter's associate who he
labels as JD. >> Mhm. >> Uh he pistol-whipped Tupac. Remember, this was part of Jimmy's request.
>> Mhm. >> Um and then he says that Tupac reached for his gun and they were wrestling for
the gun, fighting for the gun for a while before Tupac could pull it out completely. Now, the gun during this
course it goes off. >> Well, maybe that's how he got hit. >> Yeah. Well, and Dexter believes that Tupac
And these are his words. These are not scientific words here. But he says that he says that the gun went off and he
shot himself in the nuts. >> [snorts] >> Um >> [laughter] >> Well, this is where remember how I said
there's varying accounts of, you know, he Pac is shot five times. >> Right. >> And there's there's some witnesses that
say that Pac shot himself once, some saying he shot himself twice. Well, according to Dexter he shot himself
once. >> Well, if you shoot yourself in the nuts, that's like shooting yourself five
times. >> You're right, but again, it's it's not a scientific thing. He might have just
shot himself in the pants. You know what I mean? Or or >> The bullet went straight through the
scrotum. >> Yeah, I I don't think that Dexter's sitting there analyzing the situation. I think
it's probably a pretty quick attack. There's probably a lot of confusion and then you run the hell out of there.
>> Yeah, he probably didn't say "Tupac, pull down your drawers. Let me see what happened."
>> But he says that Tupac wouldn't quit fighting. That he wouldn't quit fighting
back, which I think is what we would all expect. They were trying to take all of Tupac's
jewelry and that they shot him several times after this because he wouldn't quit fighting.
>> Well, and because they're only being being paid 2,000 bucks, but maybe the thing was "We want you to rob him and
whatever you get, you can keep." >> Mhm. He He goes on to state that it was well,
that basically, once Tupac was at the hospital, that Jimmy was willing to send somebody or somebodies there to the
hospital to finish the job. >> Right. >> And according to this guy, that some of
some of Tupac's guys caught wind of this or heard this rumor from somebody or I think it
was phoned into them from somebody. They called the police and said, "Look, our buddy, our dude was He was attacked. He
was shot several times. He's in the hospital and we heard the rumor that the guys that that set him up, the guys that
tried to kill him, well, they're going to come to the hospital and finish the job."
>> Well, this Yeah, this happens all the time. I mean, I used to work at a bank right beside of
a a hospital. And if there was a gang-related shooting and there was somebody that got hit,
right? And they were in recovery, that they had to guard >> Mhm. that, you know, for maybe possibly
retaliation or whatever. >> And I believe that that stuff totally goes down. You know, that that that
there's probably several attempts on people in certain situations, but it seems very like Italian mob movie to me,
right? You know what I mean? Like you you see that in a lot of the Italian mob movies. So, anyway, they phone into the
police that, you know, you've got to send some people over here because this guy is going to get killed. We're going
to have an incident at the hospital. >> And possibly one of the reasons why Tupac didn't want to stay in the
hospital. >> Well, I think you're on to something there, Captain, because the rumor is
this, that the police were basically like, "Yeah, we hear you. We're understaffed. We can't We can't send
anybody over there to guard the door or or whatever it was going to be." >> Well, and also, in their defense, I
mean, you know how many times Tupac talked [ __ ] about the cops? In songs or in interviews and stuff like that. And
then, look, if you're going to talk mad [ __ ] about the cops, like I'm talking mad [ __ ] about, you know,
Puff Daddy, right? >> But you don't expect to be invited to his pool party. >> Right, but I'm not going to call up Puff
Daddy and say, "Hey, can you produce a song for me? And and do some dumb dances in my videos?" I'm not going to do that.
>> Well, and like you said, you know, that's probably good reason why two You know, I wondered I wondered this because
>> Why does Puff Daddy dance like a idiot? >> Well, the that's a whole 'nother That's
a whole 'nother episode. >> whole 'nother crime. >> [laughter] >> But the thing here is, Captain, you
know, what I heard was that Tupac's buddies called in this information to the police. And like you said about
Tupac, he was let's say outspoken, okay? He was a very outspoken guy. I always wondered even if
the police had shown up to watch his room, could you think of how possibly uncomfortable that situation could have
been for anybody? You know, could you see a police officer showing up to his room and then Tupac giving that dude
stuff? >> Right, out of fear. >> Giving him the business giving him the business, but like you said,
um that is is the rumor why Tupac probably left the hospital at the very first chance he could.
>> Right, out of fear. >> As early as he could run out the door, he did against doctor's orders shortly
after the surgery. >> Well, right. You were just attacked by these people and you might not know who
they are, but now you're getting rumors and >> not have any nuts left. >> [laughter]
>> So, I shouldn't have said that. That's horrible. I can't I'm turning into the
captain. >> [laughter] >> I think you >> Nurse, nurse, we're all out of nuts. Oh, god.
>> I think I think I think we drank too much. I think we we need to wrap this up
pretty soon, okay? So, where were we at? >> Well, before we do, we you know, we should mention after this attack on
Tupac >> Mhm. >> after the attempt and I'm going to call this this is an attempt on his life in
my opinion. This is a a murder attempt. I don't care if people say that we were just supposed to beat him. I don't care
what what goes down once you get there. Uh this is what took place. >> Mhm. Right, you don't care what you were told
to do. What you care is what actually happened. >> Exactly. So, the thing here is Pac has
to go back to court. He's still waiting, you know, for the end of this trial on the sexual assault case. Um you know,
he's in a wheelchair. We talked about he and his road manager Chris Fuller were both convicted of first-degree sexual
abuse and now Tupac has this lengthy prison sentence. And I say lengthy because the other charges he had faced
in the past, he received, you know, 20-day sentence or 30-day sentence or or things were settled out of court. Um so,
Tupac began serving his prison sentence on the sexual assault charges at the Clinton Correctional Facility.
Um, this would be in 1995. Now, shortly afterward, uh, he released his multi-platinum album Me Against the
World. Everybody remembers that one. Uh, Tupac became the first artist to have an
album at number one on the Billboard Billboard 200 chart while serving a prison sentence. So, he's got that going
for him. >> All right, quite an accomplishment. >> Well, in October of 1995, Tupac his case
is up for appeal at this time. Um, but because he has considerable legal fees, >> Mhm.
>> he could not raise the, this is what I've been told, $1.4 million bail. That's That's a whole lot of bail. Um,
so after serving 9 months of his prison sentence, uh, Tupac is released due in large part to the help and influence of
A-1 Suge Knight, >> Right. >> who was the CEO of Death Row Records. He posted Apparently, he posted the $1.4
million bail in exchange for Tupac signing a deal with Death Row Records. >> Right. And this was all done and this
was all handwritten. I think it was like maybe a three or four pages. It was pretty goofy deal. And it was actually,
uh, a three record deal. >> Yeah. And for my understanding, like you said, Captain, this was all pretty
closed-door, hush-hush type stuff for a long time, wasn't it? Like, we'll we'll post your extremely high bail
in exchange you're signing a record deal with us. That doesn't It doesn't seem like a real
>> And I Yeah, I don't know off the top of my head who Death Row was actually distributed by.
>> Mhm. >> But they possibly were distributed by Interscope. >> Mhm. And like you said, um, you know,
now this is binding Tupac to a three-album deal with Death Row Records. And now Tupac was scheduled to be to,
uh, be released from prison because of the influence of a one Suge Knight who will will have to he's a whole 'nother
he's a whole 'nother character in himself that we'll have to get into in tomorrow's show.
>> four characters in one. >> Yeah. >> So just to clarify what I was talking about before, the label that he was on,
you know, we talked about Tupac being on Interscope. Well, the sub label of that
was Jive. >> Right. >> And all this contract did was basically make the sub label now Death Row. It was
still under Interscope Records. But this this this contract he signed was I don't know. I mean, if he would have
wanted to fight it in court, he probably could have could have beat it. >> Well, and I I don't know the details of
the contract, but he was like like we said at the time, he's A number one. You know, he him and
Biggie are the two biggest guys. So if you have a record label and you can get one of these dudes on your label, you're
going to become one of the biggest labels. And the thing here is it it it might be because
I would argue, like you said, he might be able to beat it in court because you almost could argue that under duress he
signed this unfair deal, let's say. Um who knows who the stipulations of it, but it's
>> Yeah, I don't think it was I don't think it was like a unfair deal, but he was already running around in
that circle of uh rappers anyways. And and Death Row was already coming up. I mean, they had
the biggest producer in the hip-hop world, Dr. Dre. Uh Snoop Dogg was getting big at the time. So and
they were all friends. So I think I think also part of it too was maybe for the for the protection of it. Suge Knight
being a gang member turn bodyguard turn record owner record label owner. So I think maybe he wanted to join for
his forces with them for security reasons. I mean, he was just shot five times. >> Okay, well we'll get into the the night
in Vegas, the famous night in Vegas, Uh and we'll get into a bunch of theories you know, regarding who took down Tupac,
who was involved, all that tomorrow. >> Well, and we got to start off with the idea of is he dead or alive?
>> All right, thanks everybody for listening. Thanks for telling a friend. Thank you for the five star reviews on
iTunes. We will see everybody back here in the garage tomorrow. And until then, be good, be kind, and don't litter.
>> [music]

Tupac Shakur /// Part 1 /// True Crime Garage

Episode: 112

Part 1 of 2

TrueCrimeGarage.com

Tupac Shakur was one of the biggest rap stars of the nineties. He sold millions of records and landed roles in hit movies. Tupac was always the rebel and this would cause him legal troubles. After serving time in prison Tupac signed a record deal with the infamous Death Row Records. On September 7, 1996 Tupac attended a boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After leaving the match Tupac and his entourage attacked a man in the lobby. After the brawl, Tupac went with Death Row Records owner Suge Knight to go to a night club. On the way to the club their car was shot up while sitting at a stoplight. Tupac was hit with four bullets. He died six days later. To this day no one has been charged with his murder.

Beer of the week - Las Vegas Lager with Cucumber and Lime by Big Dog's BrewingGarage Grade - 3 and 1/2 bottle caps out of 5

Beer Fund: https://truecrimegarage.com/home

Brief Summary

This episode examines Tupac Shakur's life, controversies, and the events leading to his shooting in Las Vegas.

Key points

Welcome to True Crime Garage. Hosts Nick and the Captain introduce the show and thank listeners for tuning in.
Tupac's Early Life. Exploring Tupac's upbringing, including his mother's involvement with the Black Panthers.
Tupac's Artistic Beginnings. Tupac's early involvement in theater and the arts shapes his future career.
Tragic Incident at Festival. A confrontation leads to a tragic shooting at an outdoor festival, impacting Tupac's life.
Shooting Incident in Atlanta. Tupac was charged with shooting two off-duty policemen after a confrontation.
Trial for Sexual Assault. Tupac faced serious charges of sexual assault, which he denied vehemently.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Once my life is gone, it's gone.

Tupac discusses the value of life and the dangers he faces.

5:24WatchJun 14, 2026

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

More from True Crime Garage TV

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.