LAS VEGAS — Former Death Row Records boss Suge Knight claims he paid a funeral worker $1.2 million in cash to cremate Tupac Shakur overnight, paving the way for loved ones to smoke the rap icon’s ashes.
Knight revealed the story while recalling the days right after the legendary artist died from a 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He said Shakur’s mother wanted her son cremated as soon as possible, but a funeral home worker initially turned down the job, saying he was too busy for several days.
Knight said he tracked down the worker’s home address late one night to speed up the process. He brought two bags filled with cash—one with $200,000 and another holding $1 million.
When the worker rejected the initial $200,000 offer, Knight put both bags on the table. Facing a $1.2 million payout, the worker agreed to perform the cremation immediately.
According to Knight, the story took an even wilder turn at a Las Vegas hotel room. He claimed Shakur’s mother invited guests over, where they rolled the rapper’s ashes into several blunts and smoked them.
Knight said he chose not to participate in the act. He explained that he told Tupac’s mother “he was on probation and was concerned that smoking Tupac’s ashes could potentially violate the terms of his probation.”
The wild story comes as prosecutors present graphic evidence in the trial over Shakur’s murder. On Tuesday, August 18, prosecutors showed autopsy photos in a Las Vegas courtroom, prompting several of Shakur’s family members to walk out, while others stayed inside.
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Former South Side Compton Crips leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is currently on trial for the crime. Prosecutors do not accuse Davis of pulling the trigger, but they claim he planned the drive-by shooting that killed the 25-year-old star six days after the September 1996 attack.
Davis pleaded not guilty and denies all allegations. If convicted of murder with a deadly weapon to assist a criminal gang, he faces life in prison.