The 1996 murder of famed hip-hop star Tupac Shakur and the fall of powerhouse hip-hop label Death Row Records are two intertwined subjects that continue to pique music fans’ interest more than 15 years after Shakur was shot in Las Vegas. Fans and media have speculated as to who could’ve been responsible for Shakur’s death and countless articles and documentaries have picked apart everything that went wrong at Death Row. But while many blame Death Row Records founder/CEO Marion “Suge” Knight for both the label’s downfall and the murder of it’s biggest star, veteran West Coast rapper/producer DJ Quik says that Suge’s not the man at fault.
While speaking with AllHipHop in Atlanta at Gentleman Jack’s Art Beats & Lyrics, Quik revealed that he feels a man named Travon Lane is the one who deserves blame for all that went wrong with Death Row. Lane was reportedly a Death Row affiliate and alleged gang member, and according to Quik, he was the man who encouraged the infamous fight between Shakur, Death Row’s entourage and a man named Orlando Anderson the night the star was killed.
“It wasn’t Suge that brought down Death Row either. It was Travon Lane, b–ch a–,” said DJ Quik. “Scary a– n—a got that chain took and then got Tupac in there fighting. And then that’s how Tupac got shot. Because Travon Lane— he was like the little bully. He was like an instigator. It’s always the one that don’t mean nothing that bring the whole house of cards down. Travon Lane, you ought to be real proud of yourself. You’s a b–ch a– n—a.:
“N—a, you f—ed it up for everybody,” Quik added.
No arrests have been made in the murder of Shakur. The rapper had only been signed to Death Row for about nine months prior to his murder, but had become the label’s most high-profile and volatile artist in that short time. After his death, Knight experienced numerous legal problems and Death Row mainstay Snoop Dogg departed. Those three factors, as well as the exit of hitmaking producer Dr. Dre in early 1996, contributed to Death Row’s swift demise. DJ Quik worked on Shakur’s seminal double-album All Eyez On Me, as well as countless other hits for hip-hop and R&B stars.
