On September 7, 1996, Death Row Record founder Marion “Suge” Knight was driving the car when he and Tupac Shakur, who was in the passenger seat, were shot at multiple times at a red light. Six days after the drive-by shooting, Tupac died at age 25. The legendary rapper’s death has long remained a mystery, though a suspect was arrested in 2023.
Knight, who is now 60, is currently serving a 28-year sentence for a hit-and-run. During a recent interview with People, he shared new details about Tupac’s death. According to Knight, Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, wanted her son to be cremated right after his death — a request that allegedly cost Knight $1 million.
At first, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to help out at all because Tupac had allegedly told him that he didn’t want to be cremated. “[Tupac’s mother] came up to me and said, ‘Get it done. Now,’” Knight alleged. “I told her, ‘Look, I don’t know if I can do that.’”
Weeks prior to Tupac’s death, the rapper had allegedly spoken to Knight about how he imagined his funeral. “He told me, ‘When I go, I want every rapper at my funeral to grab the mic. I want them to kiss me head to toe. Just like in ‘Life Goes On,'” Knight said.
However, a look that Tupac’s mother gave him made Knight feel like he had to honor her request. “She gave me one of those mama looks, like, ‘Shut your a– up and do what I said,'” Knight claimed.
Once Tupac was cremated, his loved ones allegedly rolled his ashes into a blunt and “smoked him.” Knight clarified that the ritual was “symbolic.” He told People, “It’s like … you keep part of him.”
Though Knight was present, he didn’t partake in the ritual. He was on probation at the time. “I was so happy to say I was on probation — I couldn’t smoke,” Knight told the publication, adding “I told his mother, ‘Moms, I’d love to, but if I hit that, I’ll get in trouble.’ I was probably the only one who didn’t hit him.”
On September 29, 2023, Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested in connection with Tupac’s murder. He is still awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty.
