State Champ Radio Tupac Shakur
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Drake may be willing to go to war with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross and whoever else may have a problem with him, but he doesn’t want any smoke with Tupac Shakur’s estate.
Less than a week after releasing his “Taylor Made Freestyle” which featured an AI version of the late-great Makaveli, Tupac Shakur’s estate threatened Drizzy with a lawsuit for using Pac’s “vocals” on his Kendrick Lamar diss record. They gave him 24 hours to take the song down or face the legal consequences. Sho’nuff, the song has now been removed from Drizzy’s Instagram page with no explanation (not that one was needed).
Last weekend, Drake shocked the Hip-Hop world when he released the aforementioned song, which not only featured an AI generated verse from Tupac, but also Snoop Dogg who’s alive and well. With many fans bemoaning the artificially created verse from one of the biggest Hip-Hop icons of all-time, others praised Drake for the surprise move and crowned him the GOAT for taking rap battles into the digital age.
Needless to say, Snoop Dogg was shocked that he somehow ended up on a new record without his knowledge. Tupac Shakur’s estate wasn’t amused at all and slapped Drake with a cease-and-desist letter, which threatened him with a lawsuit if he didn’t take the song down from his page.
According to USA Today, the message was received and the song is now as ghost as the spirit of the man who was featured on it.
Per USA Today:
In a letter obtained by USA TODAY Wednesday, the estate of Tupac and his mother, Afeni Shakur, says it’s “deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality in the ‘Taylor Made (Freestyle)’ record.”
The letter continues, “We demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication and exploitation of the Record, and that you immediately take ALL NECESSARY steps to remove it from all platforms where it is publicly available.”
The release is “a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the Estate’s legal rights. … The Estate would never have given its approval for this use,” the letter states. “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”
And with that, the King of the North had to bow down to the rap legend’s representatives as he had no desire to take this battle to the courts.
Meanwhile, the Hip-Hop world continues to await a response from Kendrick Lamar. His silence has fans wondering if he’ll even continue to participate in the battle that he set off with his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” just last month.
We’re starting to lose faith that he will, but to each his own.
What do y’all think of this situation? Did y’all even like the song? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: L. Busacca / Getty / Tupac Shakur
Drake’s clever attempt at a Kendrick Lamar diss record could land him in legal hot water.
Spotted on HuffPost, the Estate of the late iconic rapper Tupac Shakur is threatening Drake with legal action for using an AI-generated voice of Shakur.
The Estate is giving the Canadian Hip-Hop star 24 hours to take down his latest Kendrick Lamar diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The track features AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg urging their West Coast brethren to defend his honor on wax. Drake’s verse uses the 8-mile tactic of taking all the possible insults Lamar can use off the table by pointing them out.
In the song, the fake Tupac tells K.Dot, “You asked for the smoke, now it seems you too busy for the smoke.”
Per Billboard, the cease-and-desist letter that the Shakur estate slapped Drake, real name Aubrey Graham.
The HuffPost Reports:
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” attorney Howard King wrote in the letter, according to Billboard. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the Estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
Snoop Dogg Also Had Something To Say
Following the Friday release of “Taylor Made Freestyle,” Snoop Dogg took to his Instagram account to drop a hilarious reaction to Drake using an AI version of his voice.
“They did what? When? How? Are you sure? [Sigh] Y’all have a good night,” Snoop said in the Instagram clip. “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck— what happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
We are curious to see how this plays out.
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It seems there is more to learn about 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G.’s story. Busta Rhymes reveals that a popular Biggie Smalls verse was actually going at Pac.
As spotted on Vibe, the Rap legend recently paid a visit to the All The Smoke podcast. While the “Touch It” MC discussed a variety of topics, ranging from his storied career to current events, it was a story he told about a studio session with B.I.G. that has since gone viral. Back in the mid-’90s Busta Rhymes was aiming to secure Biggie, Method Man and Nas as features on one song. While the track didn’t come together like how he originally intended, it birthed a very memorable performance by the King of New York.
“So there’s a song in the middle of the Biggie and 2Pac beef and he [Biggie] recorded the verse in my studio session. At the time I thought it would be brilliant to have these three MC’s on a J Dilla beat. I think B.I.G. just got into the car accident with [Lil’] Cease and his leg was messed up and the elevator wasn’t working,” Busta explained. “I got to Soundtracks [on] the third day. Elevators fine,” Busta continues. “Big and [Lil’] Cease come. They pull up. Meth and Nas came two days in a row now. No Biggie. So, they was not coming on the third day.”
The former Leaders of the New School member would go on to detail seeing B.I.G.’s creative process for the first time ever. “One hour, two hours; he just smoking. He ain’t writing nothing. About three hours in I’m like ‘My ni**a you ain’t going to do this verse my ni**a?’ That ni**a said, ‘I’m ready Buss.’”
Busta Rhymes would go on to recite the verse and emphasize the lines directed at 2Pac via his cadence and pitch. “Diamonds on my neck, chrome drop-top / Chillin’ on the scene, smoking pounds of green / Oooh-wee, you see, the ugliest / Money-hungriest, Brooklyn Loch Ness / Nine millimeter cock test, wan fi’ test? / And the winner is, not that thinner kid / Bandanas, tattoos, my fists never bruise / Land still cruise.”
At the time, Bus was good friends with 2Pac thus he told B.I.G. he would not be releasing the song. Years later, the verse would reappear on the posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album Born Again on “Dangerous MC’s.” You can hear the original verse below.
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Source: Pool / Getty / Duane “Keefe D” Davis
Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who was charged with the murder of Tupac Shakur, was granted bail and house arrest.
Spotted on The HuffPost, a Las Vegas judge set bail for Davis at $750,000 for the Los Angeles gang leader who was charged with orchestrating the murder of the legendary Hip-Hop star in 1996.
The judge also said Davis could go on house arrest after Davis’ attorneys successfully argued their client doesn’t pose a danger to society due to his health issues.
Per The HuffPost:
Court-appointed attorneys for Duane “Keffe D” Davis told The Associated Press after the hearing in Las Vegas that they believe he can post bail. They had asked for bail of not more than $100,000.
The lawyers argued in a court filing a day before that their client — not witnesses, as prosecutors had said — faced danger. And they say that their 60-year-old client is in poor health after battling cancer, which is in remission, and that he won’t flee to avoid trial.
“We believe he can” post bail, public defender Robert Arroyo said after Tuesday’s hearing.
Attorneys For Duane “Keefe D” Davis Had A Solid Argument
Davis’ attorneys also called out lawyers for misrepresenting a jail phone call and a list of names that went to the Davis family.
The attorneys pointed to the prosecutors Marc DiGiacomo and Binu Palal’s use of the term “green light” during the October jail call, calling it “flat out wrong.”
The prosecution argued to the judge that “In (Davis’) world, a ‘green light’ is an authorization to kill.”
Prosecutors argue that Davis’ own words since 2008 from police interviews, a 2019 tell-all memoir, and in the media implicated him in one of the world’s most popular cold cases.
Davis’ legal team says that his descriptions of Shakur’s killing were “done for entertainment purposes and to make money.”
We will continue to monitor how this case pans out.
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Photo: Pool / Getty
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Source: Pool / Getty
Keffe D’s big day is just months away but he hopes to spend this time at home. He is looking to be granted house arrest ahead of the Tupac trial.
TMZ is reporting that the Compton, California native rather spend his time under supervised release as he awaits the big day. Last week the legal team for Duane Keith “Keefe D” Davis formally requested he be granted house arrest as they claim his health is declining and the 60-year-old poses no threat to the community. If house arrest is not an option they asked that he be given a “reasonable” bail. According to KTNV they submitted a motion detailing their reasoning. “Duane should not be denied bail in this case. It cannot be said that the proof is evident and the presumption great that Duane is guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Shakur,” the motion read. “This court should release Duane on house arrest with electronic monitoring pending trial.”
Prosecutors vehemently disagree and say that witnesses are in risk if he were to be released. According to 8 News Now the state says Keefe D spoke to his family on October 9 where his son told him “around the city, they talking about it’s a green light on our side.” Prosecutors reason that this is code for an “authorization to kill”. Additionally, they state adds that the phone call came shortly after his lawyers were provided a list of the cooperating witnesses.
Keefe D was arrested in September 2023 for his involvement in the murder of Tupac Shakur. He has plead not guilty to the charges. The trial is set to commence in June.
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Source: MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images / Getty
Tupac Shakur’s legacy will continue live on in a city that gave him his musical start. A street in Oakland is being renamed after the Rap legend.
The Grio is reporting that the late great received a distinct honor in Oaktown. As of last week MacArthur Boulevard between Van Buren Avenue and Grand Avenue will now be known as Tupac Shakur Way. On Friday, November 3 friends, family and fans of the “Keep Ya Head Up” MC gathered at Eastshore Park. Pac’s sister spoke briefly while holding back tears. “Let his spirit live on the rest of these years in these streets and in your hearts,” Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur said. “It’s a moment that I know my brother would be proud of. Establishing love and peace in the Oakland community especially mattered to him. Being able to represent safety to his people mattered to him.”
Sway Calloway, an Oakland native, also spoke on why Tupac Shakur is more than deserving of this distinction. “He’s a leader, he’s an innovator, his duality, his fight for the people,” he explained. “He stood 10 toes down, and the fight that he fought for us resonated all around the globe.” The renaming was a result of a unanimous by the Oakland City Council. Councilmember Caroll Fife said “the same things that made who Tupac was, what he was fighting for and trying to lift up through his music is what we are fighting for today”.
Tupac Shakur Way is located in the Grand Lake section of Oakland. You can see video from the ceremony below.
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Keffe D appeared in court this week at a Nevada Court. He has formally plead not guilty to the murder of Tupac Shakur.
The Associated Press is reporting that the former Southside Crip gang member plans to fight for his freedom. On Thursday, November 2 he appeared in shackles before Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones. When asked the magistrate asked his plea the 60-year-old born Duane Keith Davis responded “not guilty”. The judge stated the court will not be seeking the death penalty and also confirmed that Compton, California native will be represented by public defenders Robert Arroyo and Charles Cano.
On September 29 Davits was arrested outside of his home in Las Vegas on murder charges regarding Tupac Shakur’s death. Two months prior local authorities conducted a search at his residence relating to the case. The indictment claims that Keffe D obtained a gun from an associate and provided the weapon to one of his crew members while riding the white Cadillac sedan that opened fire on Tupac Shakur on September 7, 1996.
While the murder was never officially solved former Los Angeles Detective Greg Kading released Murder Rap in 2011. The book follows how a task force that he lead worked the cold case and eventually revealed that Keffe D admitted to his role in Tupac’s murder. Years later Davis would release his own book and participate in various online interviews detailing his role in the infamous crime. Keffe alleged that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson was the triggerman; the same individual Tupac and the Death Row Records entourage attacked at the MGM Grand Hotel.
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Source: Pool / Getty
Duane “Keefe D” Davis appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom for a hearing after being arrested for the killing of Tupac Shakur.
On Wednesday (October 4), Davis arrived in court dressed in the blue jumpsuit of the Clark County Detention Center for his hearing after being arrested last week for his role in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. The formal charge was murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further, or assist a criminal gang.
The formal hearing was short as Davis informed the judge that his defense attorney needed two weeks to review all of the documents related to the case. The judge then moved up the hearing two weeks to be held on October 19. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told the press afterward that Davis is being held without bail. “We will continue to ask for a no bail setting, because we believe under Nevada law and evidence in this case, that the proof is evident and the presumption is great that he will be convicted of first-degree murder, and that allows us to ask for a no bail setting,” he said.
Davis was indicted by a grand jury last week and was arrested shortly after. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department stated that Davis’ own words led to them reopening the case. “This was likely our last time to take a run at this case to successfully solve this case and bring forth a criminal charge,” said Las Vegas Metro Police Lieutenant Jason Johansson.
The 60-year-old Davis had confessed to having a role in the shooting to Los Angeles Police Department officers back in 2009. He wasn’t charged then because the admission came as part of a proffer agreement. According to former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who has written about the Tupac Shakur killing, the proffer protected Davis since the information he shared couldn’t be used against him.
Davis has also spoken with numerous media outlets, even participating in a Netflix documentary about the murder in 2018, and released his own memoir. He is the only person involved in the shooting who is still alive – Deandre Smith, believed to have pulled the trigger in the shooting and Orlando Anderson, who got into a fight with Shakur at the MGM Grand Casino after the Mike Tyson-Bruce Weldon fight on September 7, 1996, are both deceased.
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A new video from the night that Tupac Shakur was shot has surfaced, showing the rapper heading out of the MGM Grand casino with a massive crowd.
A Las Vegas-area news network obtained never-before-seen surveillance footage of Tupac Shakur after his fight with Orlando Anderson on September 7, 1996, at the MGM Grand Casino. The video is different from the one that has already been publicized and has surfaced due to the arrest and indictment of Duane “Keffe D” Davis in connection with Shakur’s murder that night. Anderson was Davis’ nephew and a member of a rival gang to the Mob Piru, a gang Shakur had been affiliated with.
The 27-year-old surveillance video shows Tupac Shakur and Marion “Suge” Knight after the moments where Shakur along with others assaulted Anderson in the casino’s lobby. The video captures a visibly angered Shakur walking out of the casino along with Knight and a huge crowd of other people heading out behind them. The video features several zoomed-in shots of Shakur as he departed.
The incident would take place shortly before Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight left in a BMW sedan. They would be confronted by Davis along with two other men at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, a block off of the Las Vegas Strip where Deandre Smith, who was in the backseat, opened fire on them. Davis has gone on record as saying he was in the passenger seat and handed Smith the firearm. Both Smith and Anderson are now deceased.
According to Clark County officials, despite Davis’ claims that he wasn’t the man who shot and killed Shakur, he can still be charged with the murder itself for aiding and abetting. Davis is set to appear in court on Wednesday (October 4th). Suge Knight was contacted by TMZ at the California penitentiary about the situation and said he wouldn’t testify in the case. “I’m not going to get on the stand and testify, for what?”, he said.
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Jada Pinkett Smith and her connection to the late 2Pac has been well documented over the years dating back to their time as high school students in Baltimore, Md. After a man was arrested in connection to the murder of the popular rapper, Pinkett Smith has since spoken out.
Jada Pinkett Smith, 52, and Tupac Shakur were classmates at the Baltimore School for the Arts and she has shared previous factoids about their early days before their respective careers took off. With the arrest of Duane “Keefe D” Davis, Pinkett Smith shared a message to her followers by way of her Instagram story feed.
“Now I hope we can get some answers and have some closure. R.I.P. Pac, Pinkett Smith wrote along with the image of a dove.
Just prior to the arrest of Keefe D, Pinkett Smith shared an older video of her and 2Pac dancing and lip-synching to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand” track. Of course, Pinkett Smith would go on to eventually marry the Fresh Prince, better known as Will Smith, and are the parents of children Jaden and Willow Smith.
Davis offered recent testimony that pointed to his role in the shocking drive-by shooting of 2Pac in Las Vegas.
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Photo: Han Myung-Gu / Getty
