The conviction of Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis for the murder of Tupac Shakur has sent shockwaves through the rap industry. In response, DJ Vlad has declared himself to be the “Hip-Hop Journalist of the Decade”, seemingly due to his interviews with Davis being a significant part of the trial prosecutor’s case.
On August 31, 2026, it was announced that Davis was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and now faces life in prison. He is the first person to stand trial for the crime in the three decades since Tupac’s death.
Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis told DJ Vlad details of Tupac’s murder that drew suspicion of his culpability
As for why DJ Vlad’s role matters, he previously interviewed Davis about the shooting, and Davis offered specific details he could have only known if he’d been there. This sparked an official police investigation, leading to Davis’ arrest.
In 2024, DJ Vlad went on the Drink Champs podcast and explained his side of the story. “I wasn’t trying to put Keefe in prison,” he admitted. “I wasn’t trying to help Las Vegas police solve their case.” Vlad then added, “Tupac is my favorite rapper, and I wanted to put the real story out there.”
Ultimately, the prosecution used these interviews to argue that Davis should be held responsible for Tupac’s death, since he was admitting to having been there.
Davis previously tried to have the case dismissed
Davis had been fighting this case for years, and in 2025 his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss it. One thing they pointed to was that, at the time, the case had gone 27 years without any prosecution. Davis’ legal team also claimed that their client had previous immunity agreements. They argued that failure to honor these agreements would undermine “the criminal justice system’s integrity.”
“The prosecution has failed to justify a decades-long delay that has irreversibly prejudiced my client,” Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, said in a statement. “Moreover, the failure to honor immunity agreements undermines the criminal justice system’s integrity and seriously questions this prosecution.”
As you can probably guess, that motion was denied, and the case proceeded to trial.
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The post The Man Who Crowned Himself the ‘Hip-Hop Journalist of the Decade’ Following Stunning Tupac Shakur Murder Trial appeared first on VICE.
