Continued from Part 5

There is little debate on who the trigger man was killing Pac.  The white car full of the young black men were Southside crips with Orlando Anderson getting his revenge from an hour or so earlier. After Pac got dropped, shit got very intense...bodies started to drop at a record breaking rate in the streets of LA. This excerpt is the official backdrop of the aftermath.

 By late September on the streets of California in the wake of Tupac Shakur’s murder eruption of gang war breaks out between the notorious Blood and Crip factions. Police informants report Suge Knight had delivered a load of AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition and bullet proof vests to the Nickerson Gardens housing project, home to some of the most dangerous Blood Piru sets in the country. The worst gang-related fatalities were recorded since the temporary gang truce in 1992 across Los Angeles.

Read the rest inside...

Suge continued downhill in a fiercely growing battle against him, immediately his public character besmirched reaching influential circles of people who would not know of Suge’s demeanour personally on a report by NBC Primetime he was described “Some say he’s the most dangerous man in music.” Together with detailed accounts of Vanilla Ice’s encounter with Suge. Both news agencies and law enforcement across America would rally against Suge forcing action to be taken as he breathed under the heavy microscope of the nation. The U.S. Justice Department’s multi-agency taskforce investigating Suge Knight’s involvement in trafficking guns and drugs seemed to surface and speak up also. But the worst weapon they had pointed at him was an employee of Suge’s turned federal witness, Steve Cantrock.

The MGM CCTV footage was the strongest evidence against Suge despite Kenner insisting Suge was trying to prevent others from attacking Anderson. This would be Suge’s only defence presented. Before the February hearing, Death Row remained in business and released the strongest two albums of the year in the hip-hop world. Tupac’s posthumous, ‘Makaveli’ and Snoop’s ‘The Doggfather’. But as 1996 saw the demise of Suge Knight, so fell his record empire. With Snoop Dogg being the only major recording star still left on the label, after Dre’s disgruntled departure, he too started making moves to leave Death Row. Snoop would later leave loose ends with his manager, Suge’s wife, Sharitha Knight working for Knightlife Management, working under Death Row Records as a subsidiary. A $1.6million lawsuit claim was filed by Sharitha who wanted her money before Snoop gets shot. Snoop believed he was in Suge’s crosshairs when he jumped ship and sought cover and protection from New Orleans outfit, No-Limit Records headed by Percy ‘Master P’ Miller. Fortunately for Snoop, Suge had much more important business on the line, his own freedom.

Suge showed up for court in February ’97 dressed head to toe, not in his blood-red tailored suits but a uniformed L.A. County Jail issued blue jumpsuit. An incredible witness appeared on the side of Suge’s legal team, Southside Crip, Orlando Anderson. The victim in question from the MGM Lobby scuffle used to convict Suge Knight of Probation violation. He claimed Suge was trying to play peacemaker and break up the fight. Anderson was a Southside Compton Crip and it was this gang who worked security for Bad Boy. Evidently he had cursed Suge Knight and the Pirus straight after the attack but before the trial jumped onboard Suge’s defence. Compton police officers attested differently to Anderson’s accounts. Interviewed on October 1996 after the incident in Las Vegas, together with MGM security who stated seeing Suge kick Anderson three times the judge was not swayed by Suge’s tactics.

Judge Czuleger ordered Suge Knight to be detained by the Californian Department of Corrections for a ninety-day diagnostic examination then return to court in May for sentencing in State penitentiary. It was only two weeks later which saw the death of Bad Boy Entertainment’s Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls’ Wallace in Los Angeles. Immediate L.A.P.D. investigations all directed their attention to Suge Knight as their prime suspect. Later, details would come to surface involving L.A.P.D. officers working for Suge Knight and his Mob Pirus.

Before this get’s too repetitive, now that you all know the whole story we’re left to draw our own conclusions.  Anderson was down with the Bad Boy staff and unofficially was the triggerman. After that came a gang war as retaliation, but Anderson shows up to court testifying in Suge’s behalf. Odd is an understatement. This is where the theories arise that Suge masterminded a plot to kill Pac, lets look at the facts for and against this theory.

#1 (Suge did it) By now you should understand exactly how dangerous Suge Knight was during this era. Knight was responsible for a lot of deaths and had 100 million at hand to buy off anyone from police to you name it. As the million dollar man once said “everyone’s got a price”.  Could Anderson have taken money from Suge to kill Pac in Vegas? Pac had finished his contract with Deathrow and made clear that he was taking his unrecorded material and leaving. Killing him would leave hundreds of unreleased tracks to Suge and Deathrow for millions of dollars in future revenue as has happened.

#2 (just as it looks) Now, people love conspiracy. That’s why Suge being labelled as the culprit is the most favoured theory out there, the LA times shocked the world when they blamed Bad Boy. As you just read, there was a huge war that popped off between the crips and bloods...that would mean that all those bodies were a cover up in Suge’s plan. It also means that Suge put himself in the line of fire with an amateur gangbanger shooting multiple rounds in his direction. Another thing that people don’t think about is that we are just outsiders looking in, while the Outlaws and Afeni know more than any of us. Yet, they still choose to do business with Deathrow. Suge and Deathrow only addressed these rumors once saying that the only people they answer to with those obserd allegations was Pacs loved ones.

It’s pretty obvious what Bad Boy’s stance is on the matter. In fact, here is the first and last interview ever given by King Tut addressing the mayhem.

 Walter "King Tut" Johnson never thought victory could feel so empty. Just after 9am on Oct 24,1996, Johnson strode into the courthouse at 360 Adams St. in downtown Brooklyn, excited at the prospect of returing home later that day on a not-guilty verdict stemming from a robbery charge.

 Though Johnson had a criminal record that one prosecuter dubbed "extraordinary"-his rap sheet included a dramatic holdup of a Jehovah Witness Hall in 1983 , also numerous acquittals in a number of shootings and robberies , including the 1993 attempted murder of a cop in a Brooklyn barbershop.

 Johnson attorney had informed him that he'd have a good shot at a not-guilty verdict or even having his case dismissed. But as Johnson passed through the courthouse metal detectors and made his way to the courtroom, he was accosted by a group of men dressed in plain business like attire in the hallway. The men followed Johnson to the courtroom, where moments after the judge announced that he was dismissing the robbery case, the men in business attire promptly stepped forward and slapped handcuffs on him.

 The well dressed men happened to be U.S Marshalls and King Tut was on his way to being indicted by the Feds. As he was driven to the U.S District Court in Brooklyn, Johnson started to panic; this was his first run in with the feds and his extensive criminal background made him an easy target.

 Johnson's fear of a life behind federal bars increased to near parylisis when the marshals in the car accused him of shooting Tupac Shakur at Quad studios in Times Square New York in 1994 and of having murdered the rapper just six weeks earlier, on Sept 13, 1996.

 "I'm screaming at them..like 'You crazy!!- I didn't do either one of them", Johnson remembers sayin. "I didn't kill nobody, I didn't kill Tupac!"

 The agents wasn't buying it, in fact they were so convinced Johnson had killed Tupac that they asked to search his truck-which was parked in a garage near the courthouse-in hopes of finding the murder weapon.

 When Johnson arrived at U.S District Court later that day, though he was only accused of a series of robberies in Brooklyn. Much to thier chagrin, the federal agents did not find the weapon used in the Quad shooting or Tupac's murder.

 King Tut was hit with 12 federal charges stemming from three armed robberies, and not the murder of perhaps the most iconic rapper in hip hop's history, should have come as a profound relief to Johnson. But it didn't-Johnson knew that if hee was convicted, he could be sentenced to life without parole under the "Three Strikes" provisioin of a federal crime bill passed by congress in 1994, which mandated a sentence of life imprisonment for violent three time federal offenders. "That was the worst day of my life" says Johnson speking to KING MAGAZINE from the U.S Penitentary in Lee, Virginia.

 The next day, thinigs took an even darker turn. News reports of his indictment quoted an informant whom told investigators that Johnson had called Tupac “a sucker”and bragged about shooting him at Quad, an incident that jumped started the coastal hip hop war of the mid 90’s. The New York daily news quoted the informant as saying that “Tupac was not a real gangster and that he had shot him, to discipline him”.

The feds seem to believe the informants words and the following statement was given to the Daily News by a police spokesperson , “We hope that [king tut] arrest will lead to solving the murder of Tupac Shakur”.

 In spite of the fact that no evidence could be produced to solve the murder much less the shooting of Tupac in N.Y, the Daily News ran with the story under the headline: “FEDS VOW TO BURY KING TUT”.

 Walter Johnson-stick up kid, alleged killer of tupac, has the most regal of street names, born to a brooklyn -under humble conditions. During the mid 70’s, Johnson and his friends attended hip hop block parties uptown , by the dawn of the 80’s , Johnson was drawn to the sinister side of the streets.

 During this time period of the pre-guliani era, one could easily earn his stripes on the street by arming himself with a pistol and wearing a ski-mask. It was this part of street life, which Johnson relished as he commited strings of armed robberies and various street heists with ease.

“I was very angry, or you could say disturbed”, Johnson explains..”By allowing yourself to be manipulated by into situations that will affect you for your entire life, will result in lifetime reprucussions.”

 Johnson’s rep became cemented in stone in 1979, when he was picked up on a charge relating to a sting of unsolved robberies. “When my mother came to get me from the precint, the police asked her..”What other name he goes by besides Walter Johnson?..she responded “Tut is his nickname”..the superior officer replied ..”King Tut?”, my mother said..”No , that is not his name”..the officer responded..”Yeah I think his name will be KING TUT..cause he’s from the county of Kings.”

 With an alias given to him by an officer, King Tut lived up to his title as his “get money” schemes grew more outrageous and more frequency. On August 8, 1983, Tut robbed 6 passengers on a Queens to Brooklyn bus; a week later the hold up of a subway car full of passengers in downtown Brooklyn was attributed to Tut as well, and little more than a month later, on Sept 12th, he executed the robbery of more than 300 members of a Jehovah Witness Hall. Yet inspite of his healthy criminal spree, Tut virtually remained “untouched” with the exception foa 2 to 6 year jail sentence , in which he would eventually be parolled after just 3 years.

 But in January or 1993, tut’s luck with the law would come into an abrubt end. At a Brooklyn barbershop, King Tut shot a plainsclothes officer in full crowd view with Tut’s five year old son accompanying him, the officer named Richard Aviles was partially paralyzed from the waist down, Johnson says that him and his son was ambushed by Aviles without provocation and never identified himself as a cop.

 "He was dressed like a thug" , Johnson recalls, with his voice trailing off.."and he produced a weapon , ran up behind my son ..and right then all hell broke loose!".

 The next day, thinigs took an even darker turn. News reports of his indictment quoted an informant whom told investigators that Johnson had called Tupac “a sucker”and bragged about shooting him at Quad, an incident that jumped started the coastal hip hop war of the mid 90’s. The New York daily news quoted the informant as saying that “Tupac was not a real gangster and that he had shot him, to discipline him”.

The feds seem to believe the informants words and the following statement was given to the Daily News by a police spokesperson , “We hope that [king tut] arrest will lead to solving the murder of Tupac Shakur”.

 In spite of the fact that no evidence could be produced to solve the murder much less the shooting of Tupac in N.Y, the Daily News ran with the story under the headline: “FEDS VOW TO BURY KING TUT”.

 Walter Johnson-stick up kid, alleged killer of tupac, has the most regal of street names, born to a brooklyn -under humble conditions. During the mid 70’s, Johnson and his friends attended hip hop block parties uptown , by the dawn of the 80’s , Johnson was drawn to the sinister side of the streets.

 During this time period of the pre-guliani era, one could easily earn his stripes on the street by arming himself with a pistol and wearing a ski-mask. It was this part of street life, which Johnson relished as he commited strings of armed robberies and various street heists with ease.

“I was very angry, or you could say disturbed”, Johnson explains..”By allowing yourself to be manipulated by into situations that will affect you for your entire life, will result in lifetime reprucussions.”

 Johnson’s rep became cemented in stone in 1979, when he was picked up on a charge relating to a sting of unsolved robberies. “When my mother came to get me from the precint, the police asked her..”What other name he goes by besides Walter Johnson?..she responded “Tut is his nickname”..the superior officer replied ..”King Tut?”, my mother said..”No , that is not his name”..the officer responded..”Yeah I think his name will be KING TUT..cause he’s from the county of Kings.”

 With an alias given to him by an officer, King Tut lived up to his title as his “get money” schemes grew more outrageous and more frequency. On August 8, 1983, Tut robbed 6 passengers on a Queens to Brooklyn bus; a week later the hold up of a subway car full of passengers in downtown Brooklyn was attributed to Tut as well, and little more than a month later, on Sept 12th, he executed the robbery of more than 300 members of a Jehovah Witness Hall. Yet inspite of his healthy criminal spree, Tut virtually remained “untouched” with the exception foa 2 to 6 year jail sentence , in which he would eventually be parolled after just 3 years.

 But in January or 1993, tut’s luck with the law would come into an abrubt end. At a Brooklyn barbershop, King Tut shot a plainsclothes officer in full crowd view with Tut’s five year old son accompanying him, the officer named Richard Aviles was partially paralyzed from the waist down, Johnson says that him and his son was ambushed by Aviles without provocation and never identified himself as a cop.

 "He was dressed like a thug" , Johnson recalls, with his voice trailing off.."and he produced a weapon , ran up behind my son ..and right then all hell broke loose!".

 In spite of the broad daylight violence and life threatening injuries of the officer, a Brooklyn jury found Johnson not guilty of the crime of attempted murder, and this profoundly upset the NYPD. After serving a year for a minor armed robbery charge, King Tut vowed to his family and friends that he would leave the streets for good , as well as salvaging what little freedom he gained after surviving a firefight with an officer as well as beating prosecution.

 To achieve his goal , King Tut like many of his street peers sought entry into the lucrative rap industry, which at the time was capitalizing off the ‘gangsta’ lifestyle in the form of “thuggary” via Tupac and big money “dons” such as Biggie.

 It just so happen that King Tut would set up a meeting with one of the biggest advocates of this form of entertainment, Sean “Puffy” Combs, “I explained to Puffy that I can be very beneficial to you, you don’t even have to give me money, I have income coming in, I just need your insight”, Puff was like..”Yo I heard alot of bad things about you man, I don’t know”, Puff was told by many that I was not to be trusted and can do nothing but harm.” As the meeting was coming to a conclusion, with nothing productive seeming to come out of it, Tut made this plea..”Look if you don’t want to deal with me based on what I did to you or some people associated with you, I can respect that”..but to not deal with me just ‘based on what others might have said to you, just ain’t right!”

 Puff finally was convinced, and agreed to mentor King Tut in the complexities of doing business in the hip hop world, by just following his directives. Walter “King Tut” Johnson really wanted to follow Puff’s demands, but Tut had plans of his own according to rivals of Bad Boy as well as the Feds.

 Once Tupac Shakur fingerpointed King Tut and Brooklyn based manager Jimmy Rosemond in his shooting at Quad, Johnson became a certified suspect. Johnson says “Pac fingered me in the shooting, based on what people told Pac, Johnson refuses to reveal whom, all he says is that people on Rikers and the streets said it was “Tut from Cypress.” The notion that Tut was the triggerman made perfect sense to Tupac , because of an east coast cabal consisting of Puffy, Haitian Jack, Biggie and Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond seemed capable of conducting the attack. “Because of my association with Puff Combs and Bad Boy”, Johnson says. For his part Henchmen denies any involvement.

 When Shakur was later murdered in 1996, Tut’s name came up once again, he became a logical suspect which led to that fateful day that the marshals picked him up in a Brooklyn courtroom. Not able to present any credible evidence of Tut’s involvement in Tupac’s shooting as well as murder, the Feds alleged that he had commited three robberies back to back in 1996 against the girlfriend of a Brooklyn dope kingpin. Even though their were numerous loopholes in the robbery cases, and the fact that these robbery charges should have never gotten pass the state jurisdiction level, it raises the question:

 Why were the Feds so infatuated with Tut’s alleged robbery sprees?, federal law enforcement denied comment, but Tut offers this explanation, the indictment on the robbery charges were meant to pressure Tut into directly fingering Puff Daddy in Tupac’s assault and eventual murder. But instead Walter “Tut” Johnson did not cooperate with the Feds in any investigation involving Puff Daddy.

 It is likely that as a result of resisting pressure from the Feds by refusing to comply with the Feds demands, Walter “Tut’ Johnson was the first New York resident to be sentenced with life without parole under the newly written “Three Strikes’ provision.

 Although it has been a decade since Tupac’s murder and nine years since Tut’s federal indictment, the ghosts of both events still haunt Johnson and Hip Hhop as a whole. TUPAC’S controversial take on the matter “Against All Odds” off the Makavelli L.P includes the line: “Gun shots to Tut, now you stuck!” and 50 CENT kept tut’s name in the game with the verse on “MANY MEN”: “Feds ain’t no jack when Pac got shot, I got a kite from the pen saying Tut got knocked.”

 Johnson is now currently serving his life sentence in Jonesville , Va and he confirms to KING that as both New York Magazine and Newsweek have speculated that he is at the center of a renewed investigation by the U.S ATTORNEY’s office in New York regarding the shooting as well as slaying of Tupac Shakur. Johnson says that in the spring of 2005, he was moved by the Feds from Jonesville prison to the Metropolitan Corrctional Center (MCC) in downtown Manhattan next to a cell containing Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant for intense questioning.

 Johnson says that in spite of that he is working with tupac’s father , Mutulu Shakur and Shakur’s private investigator Watani Tyehembia in their own investigation of the murder of Tupac shakur, Tyehembia confirms that Tut has cooperated.

 King Tut isn’t surprised why many of Tupac’s fans are wary of his motives in helping to solve the murder of Tupac, “I can understand why pac fans would not like me and I respect their loyalty to him”…”But I want them to know I definitely had nothing to with his attempted murder nor his assassination, it is very important that they know that this situation is MORE COMPLICATED THAN THEY WOULD EVER BELIEVE, if you look at this case you will find numerous lies , inconsisticies and more importantly cover-ups and smoke screens!”

 “If i’m wrong prosecute me to the fullest degree, but if I’m innocent let me go, even though i was a bad guy in my younger years, i didn't do this, and i don't deserve to be here for this!"

So...who did it? After all the details,  you should now have a crystal clear picture of the situation and just how serious it was. Knowing this, it will all start to click on why Snoop left Deathrow...and Why Puff left the game for a little while vowing not to come back. Even Nas was contemplating leaving the music game because Pac got at him twice on Against all Odds which was released after his death. Not to mention the run in Nas and his QB dudes had with Deathrow during the MTV awards. If you ask me, when you hear stories of Nas and Big crying when they heard Pac died...i don't think it was because they missed him; since they didn't like him when he was alive. Dudes were straight up scared because people were dying fast. Now you can understand why Prodigy feels like a king for making LA LA. Many artist from the East were asked to get on that track including Fat Joe and all the "gangsta" rappers from the East...but the west just had too much power in the streets. You can now see why Prodigyis always dissing Jayz for not standin up for New York yet having the audacity to say "New Yorks been soft ever since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings".

 The mid 90s were a real time in hip hop. Pac was calling out any and everyone who even remotely sided with Big. He was so out of his element that he was ready to die for his cause...and ultimately did, taking Big with him. We can ponder for days of who actually took out the murders, but its pointless. The fact is, Pac was a man on a mission for revenge who had no fear in his heart. THAT RIGHT THERE, is what killed Big, Pac, and countless others.

Scolla - Hit some ADS!!