Unsolved – Tupac & Bigie
Unsolved is a dramatic reenactment of the events leading up to the murders of Tupac and Notorious BIG in 1996 and 1997, and the ensuing investigations by the LAPD.
Unsolved is an American true crime anthology television series. The first season is based on the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls in the late-1990s. It premiered February 2018 on USA Network.
The 10-episode season is titled The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. and chronicles the dual police investigations of Detective Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) and Detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson) into the controversial murders of two of the rap industry’s most legendary players, Tupac (Marcc Rose) and Biggie (Wavyy Jonez).
The series, which connects Tupac’s murder to the war between LA gangs The Bloods and the South Side Crips, is based on an LAPD task force investigation into the murders, headed by former cop Greg Kading.
Unsolved – Tupac & Bigie Narratives
There are three narratives in Unsolved, according to Collider.
The first narrative is set in 1993 when Tupac (Marcc Rose) and Biggie (Wavvy Jonez) were at the peak of hip-hop fame.
The next follows LAPD detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson) as he investigated the death of Wallace in 1997, believing that it was somehow connected to Shakur’s, which had occurred six months previous in Las Vegas.
The third narrative involves Kading (Josh Duhamel) reopening the case.
Tupac was just 25 when he shot in a drive by near the Las Vegas strip on September 7, 1996.
He had attended the Mike Tyson Vs Bruce Sheldon boxing match earlier that evening after which he and others from The Bloods-affiliated Death Row Records were involved in an altercation with Crips gang member Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson.
Tupac was shot later that night while driving to the 662 night club in Vegas and he died in hospital a week later.
Greg Kading was initially assigned to working on the Biggie case in LA and this led to him becoming involved in the investigation into Tupac’s murder in Las Vegas.
He ultimately concluded that Orlando Anderson was the man who pulled the trigger, following a confession by Anderson’s uncle Duane Keith ‘Keffe D’ Davis in which he revealed that he was with Anderson and two others – DeAndre Smith and Terrence Brown – in the car from which Tupac was shot.
Kading has revealed that Keffe D, speaking under immunity in the course of the task force investigation, named Anderson as the shooter, something which Long covers in the Netflix series Unsolved.
After Unsolved was filmed, Keffe D appeared in another documentary series, BET’s Death Row Chronicles, and stated that he was in the car the night that Tupac was shot – by someone in the backseat.
He said the car was being driven by Terrence ‘T-Brown’ Brown with himself in the passenger seat and DeAndre ‘Dre’ Smith and Anderson in the back seats.
After Anderson was beaten up earlier that night they went looking for Tupac at the 662 Club in Vegas.
Keffe D said they found him on the strip and pulled up alongisde Tupac’s car while he was driving to the 662 Club, which was being driven by Suge Knight.
Tupac had his head out of the sunroof of the car and was shot in the chest, pelvis, hand, thigh and lung.
He died in hospital a week later.
The creator of Netflix series Unsolved has called for the arrest of a former gangster who spoke on camera about his involvement in the murder of Tupac Shakur.
Unsolved – Tupac & Bigie Narratives
On September 7, 1996, American rapper Tupac Shakur was travelling in a black BMW with the founder of Death Row records Suge Knight. At 11.15pm they stopped at a red light in middle of Las Vegas.
They’d been at the heavyweight fight between Bruce Seldon and Mike Tyson earlier on and were heading to Club 662.
After the boxing match between Bruce Seldon and Mike Tyson at the MGM Grand a fight broke out between rival gangs – the Bloods and the Crips.
The assailants waited for the red light to change when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside them – 14 shots were fired.
Tupac was hit six times, one bullet punctured his lung.
Six days later Tupac was dead, aged 25. Now more than two decades later no-one has been convicted of his murder.
Despite that there are plenty of conspiracies and theories as to what happened. For now the case remains unsolved.
As Netflix’s Unsolved looks at the case again we look at who has been connected with the death.
Biggie & Tupac
Nick Broomfield examines the lives and murders of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur and the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast music that culminated in their deaths. The film looks at the former friendship of the two artists and also investigates possible cover-ups and police corruption.
All Eyez on Me
The true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), from his early days in New York to his status as one of the world’s most recognized and influential voices. Against all odds, Shakur’s raw talent, powerful lyrics and revolutionary mindset establish him as a cultural icon whose legacy continues to grow long after his death.
Straight Outa Compton
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Watch Straight Outa Compton on Amazon Prime >>
Notorious
The life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.
Tupac: Resurrection
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop M.Cs. of all time.
Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel
Documentary examining the politics, music, and life of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake…
Before I Wake is unique in that it is the only known documentary that chronicles the last year of Tupac Shakur’s life as seen through the eyes of the one person that was closest to him, his bodyguard, Frank Alexander. For the first time see intimate details, including behind the scenes studio footage of Tupac creating some of his most innovative music. Then you actually go to the place where Tupac was shot in Las Vegas and speak with investigators still trying to solve his murder. It has actual interview footage and never seen before studio footage of Tupac Shakur. Also interview footage of Eric ‘Eazy E’ Wright, Russell Simmon, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr, Cathy Scott, the Las Vegas Reporter, and the main Las Vegas Detective on the cast, Detective Becker.
Death Row Chronicles
A six-part documentary that chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most iconic Hip-Hop recording labels “Death Row Records” in the 1990s and during the Golden Age of Hip-Hop.
Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders
The inside story behind the Biggie and Tupac murder investigations is laid bare using police case files, taped confessions never before shown on film, and interviews with lead detective Greg Kading and other witnesses.
Welcome to Death Row
The true story of the rise and fall of Death Row Records.
City of Lies
Russell Poole and Jack Jackson investigate the murders of rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
The Tupac/Notorious B.I.G movie ‘City of Lies’, starring Johnny Depp, has been pulled from release just one month before it was due in cinemas.
Depp stars as Russell Poole, a Los Angeles Police Department detective who has spent years trying to solve the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Forest Whitaker also stars as journalist Jackson, who teams with Depp to find the truth about the rappers’ deaths.
City of Lies is a 2018 American crime film directed by Brad Furman and written by Christian Contreras. It is based on the book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan, about the murder investigations of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. The film stars Johnny Depp as retired detective LAPD Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as a journalist Jackson, with Rockmond Dunbar and Neil Brown Jr. also starring.
Originally set to be released on September 7, 2018 by Global Road Entertainment, it was pulled off the schedule in August 2018; no new date has been announced, but it was screened out of competition at the Noir in Festival on December 8, 2018 and later received a limited release in Italy on January 10, 2019.
The film tells the story of former LAPD detective, Russell Poole (Johnny Depp), who in 1997 is working the homicide investigations of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. A reporter (based on journalist Randall Sullivan’s collaboration with Russell Poole, “Jack” Jackson, teams up with Poole after nearly two decades to find out the truth.
“They were being warned, even threatened, with the consequences of releasing a film that pointed such a large and sharp finger at the LAPD, and that would put the City of Los Angeles at risk of tremendous liability.”
According to Furman, Sanders, Wallace’s attorney, said making the movie could be “a risk” to him. After that, Furman says a friend of his with ties to the Los Angeles underworld told him not to make the film. Then, a police officer Furman knew independently but hadn’t heard from in 15 years contacted him out of the blue and warned against making the movie. Furman says this cop advised him to get a burner phone and to cover the camera on his computer so no one could hijack his laptop and figure out a way to frame him.
Pulled From Distribution
Watch Notorious on Amazon Prime >>
Watch All Eyez on Me on Amazon Prime >>
Watch Straight Outa Compton on Amazon Prime >>
Watch Welcome to Death Row on Amazon Prime >>
Watch Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake… on Amazon Prime
