Paper says rival approved Tupac's murder

Arts Now

Los Angeles - Rap star Tupac Shakur was murdered with a gun belonging to rival singer Biggie Smalls, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Shakur, 25, was shot six years ago this weekend in Las Vegas after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match, and died six days later in hospital. His murder has never been solved.

Smalls, whose real name was Christopher Wallace and who was also known as the Notorious B.I.G., had been close friends with Shakur until the rivalry between rap musicians belonging to the so-called East Coast and West Coast factions turned violent.

Members of the Crips gang allegedly hatched the plan to murder Shakur on the night of the boxing match, after the singer and his entourage beat gang member Orlando Anderson in the hotel where the fight was taking place.

The Crips advised Wallace of their plans and asked him for $1 million US if they were successful. According to the Times , Wallace agreed on the condition that Shakur was killed with Wallace's own gun.

The Times named Anderson as the man who shot Shakur. Anderson, 21, was killed in 1998 in an unrelated gang shooting.

Wallace, 24, was shot to death on March 9, 1997 in Los Angeles. His killing also remains unsolved.

Records by Shakur and Wallace continue to be big sellers. Wallace's second album, Life after Death , has sold more than 10 million copies. Two of Shakur's records have sold more than 9 million copies each.

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