The fame of rapper Tupac Shakur is such that even people who know nothing about rap music know a little bit about the man. Whether or not you've ever taken the time to listen to his tracks, you're probably familiar with 'California Love' and 'Changes,' and you know that he was killed in a drive-by incident which remains unsolved. What fewer people know is that Shakur was photographed moments before the shots were fired, and this is that photograph.
The night in question was September 7th, 1996. Shakur, only 25 years old at the time, had been in Las Vegas to celebrate a friend's birthday. Some rappers with whom Shakur and his entourage had issues with were also in the city on the same night, and it's widely suspected that he was assassinated because of these issues. His death prompted outrage and great media debate about the nature of 'gangsta rap' and its effect on young people.