Knight says he thinks Tupac is still alive - but he would say that, wouldn't he?!
Like some bad Scooby Doo "play within a play," Coachella's seeming revival of Tupac from the dead (in hologram form) has stirred up a lot of conspiracy talk around Tupac's death - or feigned death.
In a recent radio appearance, Suge Knight said he doesn't believe Tupac is dead. According to Knight, his theory explains why the police never found the murderer - there wasn't one! "Nobody seen Tupac dead," Knight said. He added that he gave the man who "supposedly" cremated Tupac's remains, but the crematorium employee was never seen again.
No matter how you look at Knight's statement, claiming that Tupac is still alive is an entirely self-serving thing to do. The Tupac-related conspiracy theories fall into two basic clusters:
Cluster 1: Testimony Against Knight
Two ways you can go with this one. Either Tupac turned State's Witness against Suge Knight, and faked his death in order to go into hiding. Or Knight knew that Tupac was considering testifying against him, and hired a hit man to silence Tupac before this could happen.
If you believe the first, then Knight is saying "I know you're out there and I'll get you eventually." If you believe the second, then Knight is saying "It wasn't me! He's not even dead!"
Cluster 2: Baphomet
Some people believe that Knight had Tupac killed as a blood sacrifice to Baphomet, the Satanic goat lord with suspected ties to the Illuminati, the Templars, the Masons, and more. Knight's insane success with Death Row Records is seen by many as the work of a Satanic bargain.
And what better sacrifice for Satan than Tupac Shakur, one of the world's most successful recording artists at the time?
As proof for this theory, conspiracy theorists offer a handful of seemingly unrelated or perhaps misinterpreted facts and signs. Like Tupac's final album (which was released after his death) was titled "Killuminati," which many see as a clear indicator that he was involved with the Illuminati (or perhaps just trying to call them out). Or this picture, in which Suge Knight seems to be throwing the "sign of Baphomet" hand sign at Snoop Dogg.
According to this theory, obviously Knight would claim that Tupac was still alive. Again, to dodge the blame for his death.
Personally, I feel like there is an underlying racist component to this theory. People who don't like (nay, actively hate) rap can't understand how someone like Suge Knight or Jay-Z could make so much money off it. The obvious answer is not that "Well, YOU may not like it, but a lot of other people do" but "Satanic bargain."