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IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Image caption,
Shakur is regarded as one of the greatest artists of hip hop

A former gang leader has pleaded not guilty to the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, entered the plea during an appearance at a Las Vegas court, and a lawyer was appointed to represent him.

Shakur was 25 when he was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas.

Mr Davis was charged in September, and police allege he planned the shooting with his nephew following a fight with Shakur in a casino.

At a news conference held shortly after Mr Davis’s arrest, police showed hotel security footage from 7 September 1996, in which several men are seen kicking and punching a man they identified as Orlando Anderson, the suspect’s late nephew.

Police said this ultimately led to the retaliatory shooting of Shakur as he was waiting in his car at a red light.

Shakur died in hospital six days later.

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Police also said that Mr Davis got the gun from an unnamed associate, and mentioned Mr Davis’s “own admissions” to media outlets that he was in the vehicle where the shots were fired from.

The three men who were in the car with Mr Davis at the time of the shooting, which included his nephew, have all since died.

Authorities have not said who actually fired the gun.

Shakur, whose stage name was stylised as 2Pac, is widely regarded as one of hip hop’s greatest artists.

He sold more than 75 million records worldwide, enjoying chart success with hits including California Love, All Eyez On Me and Changes.

In June, the rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.