One of the world's most enduring murder mysteries now faces its biggest test yet

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Thirty years after the United States artist, considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, the unsolved killing could finally be brought closer to an answer.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis , 63, is standing trial in Las Vegas, accused of orchestrating the killing and providing the gun used in the shooting.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder, with jury selection underway and opening statements expected this week.

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But whether the jury returns a guilty verdict or not, the trial is about more than just a cold case murder.

Known for hits like California Love and the top-selling record All Eyez on Me, Shakur was already one of the biggest stars in hip-hop when he was killed at just 25.

Like other young artists whose lives were cut short, his unresolved murder transformed him into a global cultural icon, with his life and death continually revisited and theorised decades after his death.

Cathy Scott, then a crime reporter with the Las Vegas Sun, remembers the night Shakur was shot on 7 September 1996 well. She had been tipped off by a homicide detective about the shooting.

"He said, 'Get out of bed and go down to the Las Vegas Strip … a rapper by the name Tupac Shakur was shot,'" the author and journalist tells SBS News.

Shakur was in the passenger seat of a BMW, driven by music executive Marion "Suge" Knight, when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them at a red light and opened fire.

Shakur was struck multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived.

Scott says police were initially reluctant to share information about their investigation, with one detective telling her they were concerned the suspected gang-related killing was bad for tourism.

"I really think they thought it would go away," Scott, who later wrote a book about the murder, says.