2Pac was undoubtedly a fantastic hip-hop emcee and had a huge impact on the culture despite his early demise. However, unlike other late rappers such as Biggie Smalls, 2Pac has a mystery surrounding his legacy that has been around for years.
Following his death, rumours arose that the rapper had faked his own death and that he was still alive, living somewhere else, and that myth is still growing strong to this day. People have seen 2Pac musically and visually reincarnated several times. Whether it’s the posthumous albums or the incredible life-sized hologram that appeared on stage alongside Snoop Dogg to perform ‘2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted’ for 2012’s Coachella, all of it can be traced to one myth.
One reason that the legacy of 2Pac seems more potent than that of other deceased MCs is due to a conspiracy theory that suggests the Oakland rapper didn’t die in 1996 after getting shot but instead survived and relocated to Cuba. With just a quick Google search of the lyricist’s name, one can find copious amounts of alleged sightings and eyewitness confirmation that the emcee is alive and well.
In 2020, one private investigator shared audio and a photo as proof that 2Pac was alive and insisted that he was not in Cuba, but asserted that he was in Belize. However, many claimed the image was photoshopped, and in the era of artificial intelligence, people are becoming less convinced that some of these videos and photos are real.
Following Mac Miller’s death, no one questioned whether he was truly dead. The same can be said for Nate Dogg, Prodigy, J Dilla, DMX, and the multitude of other deceased hip-hop stars, but 2Pac’s last album has played a big part in many people’s belief that he is still alive.
2Pac’s last album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, fuelled the belief that he staged his death because of what its name insinuates. Many believe that The Prince, written by political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli, advocates for one to fake their own death. However, scholars and students of Machiavelli have asserted for years that The Prince does not mention or even present the notion of faking death.
Although 2Pac indeed read the book while he was in prison, nowhere in the text does it mention such a stunt and all the people claiming that it does have only presented vague allusions. Some people insist that it was the author himself, Machiavelli, who faked his own demise, but his passing is well-documented, and this has always been an unsubstantiated claim.
Concerning the album’s title, many believe the “7 day Theory” part of the title was 2Pac faking his death, as he was pronounced dead seven days after the shooting. Many believers think that after seven days, he went into hiding.
Although it is always interesting when people claim they have seen 2Pac, too many stories suggest the opposite. The rapper’s mother, Afeni Shakur, identified the body, and numerous people, including Snoop Dogg, have recalled seeing 2Pac in the hospital with fatal injuries in his dying days. As such, the conspiracy theories seem to be baseless despite what The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory may suggest.
