Just days before Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis faces trial for Tupac Shakur’s murder, previously unknown recordings and lyrics from the late rapper have emerged.
The three unreleased songs featuring Tupac as the lead were part of a shelved project from the early 1990s with a group called Jesse and the Kidz.
The discovered cassette tape lists the tracks ‘Leave Us Kidz Alone,’ ‘Streetz got ya Babies’, and ‘Bedtime Storiez’.
Notably, ‘Streetz got ya Babies’ contains some eerie lyrics that could almost have foreseen Tupac’s own violent death as they allude to fearing someone was after him.
They read: ‘Mama told me to watch my back and that’s what I’m gonna do’ and ‘traded in my zip gun got me a .22’.
Additionally, handwritten lyrics for a song titled ‘Daze,’ reflecting on Tupac’s childhood and parental lessons, have also been revealed. Both the recordings and lyrics are now available for private sale through MomentsInTime.com.
The timing of this release coincides with the upcoming trial of Keefe D, who was arrested in September 2023 for Tupac’s 1996 murder in Las Vegas.
Davis, a former Compton drug lord and leader of the Crips street gang, has long been implicated in the case but has consistently maintained his innocence.
Just before Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis faces trial for Tupac Shakur’s murder, previously unknown recordings and lyrics from the late rapper have emerged. Tupac is pictured above
The timing of this release coincides with the upcoming trial of Keefe D, who was arrested in September 2023 for Tupac’s 1996 murder in Las Vegas
Notably, ‘Streetz got ya Babies’ contains lyrics that eerily almost foreshadow Tupac’s own violent death. One lyric reads: ‘Mama told me to watch my back and that’s what I’m gonna do’
The cassette tape lists the tracks ‘Leave Us Kidz Alone,’ ‘Streetz got ya Babies’, and ‘Bedtime Storiez’
‘I’m innocent,’ Davis told ABC News from inside Clark County Detention Center last week as he awaits trial.
Prosecutors built their case against him using his own memoir, Compton Street Legend, alleging that he detailed his role in Tupac’s murder.
However, Davis insists he never actually read the book and claims co-writer Yusuf Jah took creative liberties in recounting events.
‘I’ve never read the book,’ Davis told ABC News. ‘I just gave him details of my life, and he did his own investigation and wrote it.’
He further denied being in Las Vegas on the night of the murder, claiming he was at home in Los Angeles and has up to 30 alibi witnesses who can testify in his defense.
‘I did not do it,’ he insisted. ‘They don’t have anything – no gun, no car, no Keefe D, nothing.’
Davis expressed frustration over his arrest, saying he left his past behind and tried to turn his life around.
‘I stopped selling drugs, I got new friends,’ he said. ‘I’m supposed to be out there enjoying my twilight years, watching my grandson’s football and basketball games.’
Authorities, however, remain confident in their case, arguing that Davis was the ‘shot caller’ who orchestrated the hit on Tupac.
Both the recordings and lyrics are now available for private sale through MomentsInTime.com
Additionally, handwritten lyrics for a song titled ‘Daze,’ reflecting on Tupac’s childhood and parental lessons, have also been revealed
The black BMW in which rapper Tupac Shakur was gunned down
Shakur was shot while riding in a car off the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson fight.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he died six days later.
For years, law enforcement hesitated to charge Davis, partially due to a 2008 proffer agreement he made with a federal task force in Los Angeles.
Under that agreement, he admitted to some involvement in Tupac’s murder in exchange for protection from prosecution.
However, when he later spoke with Vegas police – who were not bound by the agreement – his statements became key evidence against him.
Davis’ legal team attempted to challenge his arrest on these grounds, but the argument was rejected.
‘I’m not even supposed to be in jail,’ he claimed. ‘A deal is a deal.’
He also shifted blame toward Reggie Wright Jr., a former police officer who oversaw security for Suge Knight’s Death Row Records at the time.
Wright testified before the grand jury that indicted Davis, leading Davis to claim, ‘Their top witness is the lead suspect.’
Davis, 61, was arrested for the murder of Tupac in September 2023 – 27 years after the famed rapper was shot dead in the passenger seat of a car in Nevada
As the only surviving person from the car that fired the fatal shots, Davis now faces first-degree murder charges.
He pleaded not guilty in November 2023 and remains in custody, facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted.