Updated August 9, 2026: With Duane “Keffe D” Davis’s trial set to begin in Las Vegas, Tupac Shakur’s stepbrother Mopreme Shakur is approaching the proceedings with cautious hope—and an understanding that the process may reopen wounds the family has carried for nearly three decades.

“I hope that the trial is fair, and we find out the truth,” Mopreme said in remarks reported by The Associated Press. His words capture the difficult position facing the Shakur family: a long-awaited criminal trial may produce answers, but it cannot undo the loss that reshaped their lives and hip-hop history.

For WWETV, Mopreme’s perspective is especially significant. In our exclusive interview, he spoke at length about Tupac, the meaning of Thug Life, the Shakur family’s revolutionary legacy and the responsibility of protecting his brother’s story. Watch the full conversation below.

Mopreme Shakur Enters Trial Week With Cautious Hope

Mopreme told the AP that the years since Tupac’s September 1996 death have been exhausting and stressful. He also acknowledged that sitting through testimony about the shooting could be retraumatizing. His cautious optimism is therefore not a declaration that every question has already been answered. It is a hope that the court process will be fair and that the evidence will finally establish what can be proven.

That distinction matters. Tupac’s murder has generated decades of rumors, documentaries, books and conflicting accounts. A criminal courtroom requires something different: admissible evidence tested by prosecutors and defense lawyers before a jury.

What Prosecutors Allege About Keffe D

Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote or assist a criminal gang. Prosecutors allege that he helped orchestrate the fatal shooting and supplied the weapon used in the attack. Tupac was shot while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas Strip and died six days later at age 25.

Davis is the only person ever charged in connection with the killing. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

What the Defense Is Expected to Argue

Davis’s attorneys dispute the prosecution’s theory. The defense has argued that there is no physical evidence showing that Davis ordered or directed the shooting and has challenged the reliability of witnesses and statements tied to events from 1996.

The trial is expected to focus heavily on Davis’s own words. A judge has ruled that prosecutors may use statements from a 2008 police interview and passages from his memoir. Davis’s lawyers have maintained that some of those statements were made under agreements connected to earlier investigations and that he embellished stories for publicity and financial gain.

Those competing interpretations will now be tested in court. The jury—not headlines, social media or decades of speculation—will be asked to decide whether the state proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mopreme’s Potential Role in the Case

Mopreme has been included on a list of more than 200 potential witnesses. Being named on that list does not guarantee that he will testify. Prosecutors and defense attorneys routinely identify a broad range of possible witnesses before trial, and the final witness list may be much shorter.

Tupac’s sister Sekyiwa Shakur and Knight have also appeared among potential witnesses. Knight, who was wounded in the 1996 shooting, has publicly said he does not plan to testify. Any final decision about who appears in court will depend on trial strategy, evidentiary rulings and developments during the proceedings.

WWETV Exclusive: Mopreme on Tupac, Thug Life and Family Legacy

WWETV’s interview offers essential context beyond the criminal case. Mopreme explains that “Thug Life” was not simply a slogan or an invitation to violence. He describes it as an effort to organize young people, confront the conditions affecting Black communities and turn pain into purpose.

He also reflects on the influence of the Shakur family and the political consciousness that shaped Tupac’s art. That background helps explain why Tupac remains more than a murder victim or music icon. His catalog, activism and contradictions continue to influence hip-hop, social commentary and new generations of artists.

Read more from the conversation in WWETV’s exclusive feature on Mopreme Shakur, Tupac and the Thug Life movement.

What This Trial Can—and Cannot—Resolve

A verdict may establish criminal responsibility under the law, but it cannot settle every debate surrounding Tupac’s death. Some witnesses are no longer alive, memories have changed over time, and public narratives have hardened across three decades. The case also arrives with enormous cultural weight because Tupac’s killing remains one of hip-hop’s defining unsolved tragedies.

For Mopreme and the Shakur family, the trial is both public history and private grief. His message is measured: allow the process to unfold, demand fairness and seek the truth without pretending that a courtroom can restore what was lost.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin August 10 in Las Vegas. WWETV will continue following the proceedings, including whether Mopreme is called to testify and how the court handles the statements and evidence at the center of the prosecution’s case.

This report concerns allegations in an ongoing criminal case. Duane Davis has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.