Ex-Gang Leader to Get Date for Murder Trial Stemming from 1996 Killing of Tupac Shakur 

Artist Joaquin Saavedra MacCarthy Thin paints a mural depicting rapper Tupac Shakur during a ceremony for a street renaming in the rapper's honor in Oakland, California, US, November 3, 2023. (Reuters)
Artist Joaquin Saavedra MacCarthy Thin paints a mural depicting rapper Tupac Shakur during a ceremony for a street renaming in the rapper's honor in Oakland, California, US, November 3, 2023. (Reuters)
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Ex-Gang Leader to Get Date for Murder Trial Stemming from 1996 Killing of Tupac Shakur 

Artist Joaquin Saavedra MacCarthy Thin paints a mural depicting rapper Tupac Shakur during a ceremony for a street renaming in the rapper's honor in Oakland, California, US, November 3, 2023. (Reuters)
Artist Joaquin Saavedra MacCarthy Thin paints a mural depicting rapper Tupac Shakur during a ceremony for a street renaming in the rapper's honor in Oakland, California, US, November 3, 2023. (Reuters)

A former Southern California street gang leader charged with killing rap icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 is expected Tuesday to learn the date for his murder trial, probably next year.

Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis won't face the death penalty but could be sentenced to life in prison if he’s convicted of one of hip-hop’s most talked-about killings. He pleaded not guilty last Thursday and remains jailed in Las Vegas.

Davis, 60, is originally from Compton, California. He was arrested Sept. 29 outside a Las Vegas-area home where police served a search warrant July 17.

In recent years, Davis said in interviews and a 2019 tell-all memoir that he orchestrated the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur at age 25 and wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight.

Knight, now 58, is serving 28 years in a California prison for the death of a Compton businessman in 2015.

Davis is the only person still alive who was in the vehicle from which shots were fired. He has also said he was diagnosed with cancer.

Prosecutors say the shooting followed clashes between rival East Coast and West Coast groups for dominance in the musical genre dubbed “gangsta rap.” The grand jury was told that Shakur was involved in a brawl at a Las Vegas Strip casino with Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, shortly before the shooting.

Anderson, then 22, denied involvement in Shakur’s killing. He died two years later in a shooting in Compton.

Davis implicated himself during multiple interviews and his memoir that described his life leading a Crips gang sect in Compton.

He wrote that he was promised immunity from prosecution in 2010 when he told authorities in Los Angeles what he knew about the fatal shootings of Shakur and rival rapper Christopher Wallace six months later in Los Angeles. Wallace was known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls.

Shakur had five No. 1 albums, was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted in 2017 into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He received a posthumous star this year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A street near where Shakur lived in Oakland, California, in the 1990s was renamed last Friday in his honor.



Village People, Carrie Underwood to Perform at Trump Inauguration

Carrie Underwood performs at Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City, US, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Carrie Underwood performs at Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City, US, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
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Village People, Carrie Underwood to Perform at Trump Inauguration

Carrie Underwood performs at Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City, US, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Carrie Underwood performs at Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City, US, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)

The Village People -- the group behind "Y.M.C.A," a staple of Donald Trump's rallies -- said Monday they have accepted an invitation from the president-elect to perform at events connected to next week's inauguration.

Singer Victor Willis said in a statement on Facebook the Village People would "participate in inaugural activities, including at least one event with President Elect Trump."

"We know this won't make some of you happy to hear, however, we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics," Willis continued.

"Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost.

"Therefore, we believe it's now time to bring the country together with music which is why VILLAGE PEOPLE will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump."

Trump's campaigns have frequently played the 1970s-era hit at rallies during his multiple bids for office, with the Republican often dancing onstage to it.

Also on Monday, famed country singer Carrie Underwood said she had accepted an invitation to perform during the inauguration slated for January 20.

"I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event," Underwood said in a statement.

"I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future."

The 41-year-old is scheduled to sing "America the Beautiful," according to a schedule released by the Trump team.

Historically the president-elect has had a rocky relationship with most figures in the entertainment world, many of whom have admonished him for playing their music at his rallies -- including, at times, the Village People.

During his first term several artists threatened to boycott their own induction ceremonies into the prestigious Kennedy Center pantheon if Trump attended those gala -- which he ultimately never did.