Since 2Pac's murder there have been conspiracy theories surrounding the event. Over time, the truth of what happened on Sept. 7, 1996 has become public knowledge. Despite many fans knowing the truth, the real story behind 'Pac's death was rarely spoken about in the mainstream due to the nature of the incident. Yet, Glasses Malone is looking to change this.
For his latest track "2Pac Must Die (Orlando Anderson)," Malone embodies the persona of Shakur's alleged murder Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson. Throughout the track, Malone recounts a version of events that has been told for over 22 years but from the perspective of Baby Lane. Instead of painting Lane out as an unknown assailant with a vendetta against the rapper, Malone shows how 'Pac played a part in his own demise.
As most know, 2Pac died after a car driven by Suge Knight was littered with bullets on the Las Vegas strip. It's also been documented that 'Pac was involved in an altercation at the MGM casino just moments before the shooting. But what isn't often reported is that the man 2Pac and Death Row attacked was Baby Lane Anderson and that 2Pac started to fight because Anderson stole a Death Row member's chain days prior.
This incident allegedly prompted Baby Lane to rally his fellow Southside Compton Crips and kill 2Pac in retaliation. In 2009, Baby Lane's uncle, Duane “Keefe D” Davis confessed to being in the car while Baby Lane pulled the trigger. This in addition to all the other passengers being dead, freed Glasses Malone to create this point-of-view track and visual.
While this might seem like an unnecessary story to tell, it appears that Malone is using the death of 2Pac to show the dangers of gangbanging. In addition to his loyalty to Death Row, 2Pac's antics at the MGM were fueled by his new affiliation with the MOB Pirus. That connection led him to lose his life. Malone emphasizes this with the last line of the song, "This gangbangin' shit's so costly."
During a video premiere party in Los Angeles last week, Malone explained the video is “serious” and “educational.”
“If y’all are tired of people dying. Y’all know people dying. Y’all know what happened with Nip. Y’all know what happened with certain homies on the street shit, is because nobody telling nobody else the truth,” he told the crowd. “So what I’m here to do is I can’t sell you hope. Y’all can buy that shit from other rappers. I’ma sell you the truth. And then its up to you to do what you wanna do with the education. All I can do is bring it to you.”
Despite his explaination, Malone has been met with a lot of backlash online upon releasing the video.
