'RIP King': Fans pay respect to Tupac Shakur, hope for justice as murder
trial nears the end
[August 29, 2026]
By JESSICA HILL
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Shardae Williams woke up recently to someone blasting
Tupac Shakur's “Shed So Many Tears," as they drove by her home. Lately
at work or while running errands, she has seen people wearing Shakur
shirts. The late rapper's presence is everywhere since the Las Vegas
trial began, she says, calling it a hopeful sign that answers are coming
in the death of her favorite artist.
“His spirit wants this to come out and wants this to get justice,"
Williams said.
Nearly 30 years after Shakur’s death, the trial of the only person ever
charged in his killing has drawn fans back to a loss many of them never
stopped carrying. For them, the case not only offers the person who may
be responsible for Shakur's death, but a chance for resolution after
decades spent keeping his music, message and memory alive.
Former Southern California street gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has
pleaded not guilty to orchestrating the drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
After his death in 1996, Shakur and his influence lived on through fans
and pop culture. He received a posthumous star in 2023 on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame, a street named after him in Oakland, California, and will
be a character in the upcoming video adventure game “Stranger than
Heaven.”
Fans see Shakur as a revolutionary
There's no official memorial to Tupac where he was shot on the Las Vegas
Strip on Sept. 7, 1996. But visitors stop at the intersection and fans
gather regularly on his birthday, June 16, adding messages to a utility
pole that is covered in remembrances, such as “RIP King," “Tupac 4 Life”
and “Gone but never forgotten.”
They leave balloons, cake or his favorite type of brandy, Hennessy. On a
strip of concrete nearby, someone painted a rose with the phrase “the
rose that grew from concrete,” a reference to Shakur's posthumous book
of poetry.
Atlanta resident Julie Hardy has been to the memorial three times on
Shakur's birthday to pay her respects.
"People still care, and he has not been forgotten,” said Hardy, 56.
For fans like Hardy, Shakur is more than just a rapper. Hardy
categorized Shakur, the son of a Black Panther, among the likes of Black
activists such as Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King Jr.
because he wrote about the “revolution” and the ups and downs the Black
community faces, she said.
Shakur's philosophy that he dubbed T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E, which stood for
“the hate U give little infants f—-s everybody,” called for the
uplifting of marginalized communities and demanded accountability from
systems that oppressed Black people and the youth.
Hardy gravitated toward Shakur when she was 19 living in Cincinnati,
Ohio, and her cousin showed her Shakur's first solo album, “2Pacalypse
Now.”
Shakur's “Brenda's Got a Baby” resonated with Hardy because of the high
rate of teen pregnancy at the time, she said. His song “Soulja's Story”
inspired her to write hip-hop songs because it told a story of things
she also saw growing up in Black communities, such as police and gun
violence.
When she saw on the news that he was shot, she called everyone she knew.
Hardy then went to her friend’s house and prayed, hoping Shakur would
survive like he did when he was shot in a robbery in November 1994.
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 She felt like a family member passed
when she learned he died days later a hospital. He was 25.
“We looked up to him as an icon and a revolutionary, and now we’re
looking up to him as a legend,” Hardy said.
Shakur inspired others in songwriting
Din “Lil Therapy” Malone took a bus from Denver, Colorado, to watch
the trial in Las Vegas.
Malone was introduced to Shakur when he was 13 years old watching
Shakur in his breakout starring role as a troubled teen in the 1992
movie “Juice.” Then, he started listening to his music.
“Tupac taught me how to translate my tears into words,” said Malone,
a songwriter and artist. Outside of an overflow room in the
courthouse, Malone wore a Shakur shirt and played Shakur's music on
his phone's speaker.
Shakur wrote about his own hardships, and inspired Malone to do the
same, putting into words experiences of being bullied as a kid or
mourning family deaths, Malone said. He grew up in a Crips-run
neighborhood in Denver and — like Shakur — learned how to “live
through the hood.”
Shakur's song “It Ain't Easy” spoke to Malone about the importance
of persevering when life isn't easy. Even though he never met the
rapper, he said he felt like he lost an older brother.
Shakur's legacy continues
Williams, a North Carolina resident, runs a Facebook fan page for
Shakur called All Eyez on Pac that has over 25,000 followers.
The 38-year-old has loved Shakur ever since she watched “Poetic
Justice,” the 1993 movie starring Shakur as a postal worker and
Janet Jackson as a grieving hairdresser. One of the first Shakur
songs she heard was “Dear Mama,” and she said she was touched by
Shakur's deep love for his mother, Afeni Shakur.
Over the years, Williams watched every video about Shakur and every
interview of people who knew him, she said.
“That’s what made me create the page because I really truly have a
love for Tupac," she said.
She saw Shakur as a sweet, kind-hearted person who was
misunderstood. Shakur wasn't perfect. He was convicted of sexual
assault and acquitted on more serious charges in a sex abuse case in
1994. He was sentenced to 18 months to over 4 years in prison, but
served nearly eight months before he was released. But Shakur was
human, Williams said.
Some fans who sat in the courtroom during the trial still don't
believe Shakur died, believing he faked his own death and is living
in Cuba.
Williams said she was in denial when she first saw Shakur's autopsy
photos but sadly came around to realize he was gone
“He would want to have justice,” she said. “He would want to keep
his name and legacy alive.”
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