*(Los Angeles, CA) — It’s no coincidence that Richard “RJ” Bond, an Author, Filmmaker, and writer, is releasing his new documentary TV six-part mini-series “Tupac Cover Up” on the 28th anniversary of his death.
After 28 years, the alleged killer of Rapper Tupac Shakur has been indicted by Las Vegas Police. But do they have their man? Maybe not. Using never-before-seen FBI files, Las Vegas PD files, and interviews with key investigators and witnesses. “Tupac: Cover Up” challenges the Vegas Narrative and their desire to solve the case. Is this justice, or is this blame? You be the judge.
“Tupac: Coverup” features new and unheard interviews with celebrities (Mykelti Williamson, of Heat and Forrest Gump fame) Death Row Insiders (Kevin Black, Mike Nixon), Industry Insiders (Billy Johnson, Jr., Cynthia Horner, Janie Jennings), Law Enforcement (FBI Special Agent Phil Carson, who lead the Tupac/Biggie investigations for the FBI) as well as unheard and unreleased material from former Tupac bodyguards, friends and family. Athena Bond is the Executive producer and Edna Sims is the film’s producer. (WATCH the series online NOW on Tubi, HERE)
Bond has spent over 20 years researching the Murder of Fame hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. Bond’s research has led him to what he believes is a conclusion neither the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police nor the Los Angeles Police Departments are ready to admit regarding the cold case of who killed Tupac Shakur. And Bond would know. He’s been Executive Producer on precedented five (5) commercial documentaries on the Shakur case, including the “Tupac Assassination” franchise (2007-2017) and recently 2022’s Nick Broomfield documentary “Last Man Standing.” He has even written a book about it, “Tupac 187: The Red Knight.”
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In September 2023, a grand jury indictment of Duane “Keefe D” Davis led to his arrest on the single charge of Murder with the Use of a Deadly Weapon. Bond’s research, including never-released transcribed interviews by police, cast inescapable doubt on the “Davis Narrative,” leading Bond to conclude Clark County Prosecutors are headed down the wrong road to solving the decades-long murder case. Davis has pled “not guilty” to the charges.
While working on another film, Bond became aware of the murder charge against Davis. “The move took me completely off-guard,” said Bond. “ I believed the Davis Narrative had exhausted itself. I felt that we had done a reasonable job in “187” and “Battle for Compton” in casting a substantial amount of doubt on (former LAPD detective Greg) Kading’s work.”
Kading introduced the “Davis Narrative” to the public in 2011, and mainstream media and Vegas seem to credit him with solving the crime or at least pinning Davis to it.
“I had left the entire matter to be; I felt like we had said what we needed to say and moved on to other movies when Davis began making his claims in 2018 and onward. I blew them off as fruit from Kading’s poisonous tree of an investigation.
“This is what I get for being quiet.”
Bond, who was known to have collaborated with former LAPD detective Russell Poole (portrayed by Johnny Depp in Brad Furman’s “City of Lies”) before his death, decided right after charges were filed against Davis to address the matter in final episode in the Tupac Assassination” movie franchise he had produced since 2007. But as Bond studied the details emerging from the Davis Grand Jury Indictment- and the lack of credibility of witnesses and evidence- he believed the “fix was in” against Davis. He elected to re-visit the matter in a new kind of documentary- a docuseries currently in development.
“This is not about Justice,” said Bond. “This is about blame. They are running with a stale and debunked hood legend that falls apart under its weight. My question was, at that point, ‘Why now, and why this?’ It was then that I realized that it was equally important to discuss what I believe to be the real motive as to why this “Bone China” fragile Davis Narrative was being propped up. It’s not about solving anything; it’s about using a story to cover up a lot of collateral unanswered questions, questions that drive at not only who actually killed Tupac but who stood to benefit and who had reasons to protect their exposure in the shooting.
“This covers up the matter nicely for those who need this case- and the exposure that has been out there- to end. Until 2018, the “old guard” Vegas Police- including Brent Becker and Kevin Manning- didn’t care about agendas and politics, so they were not interested in closing a case just to close a case. Now, as we see daily in today’s world, its about Optics and Politics. If Vegas prosecutes Davis and they win, the matter is history and closed. If they lose the case, they tell the world ‘That’s our guy, that’s the best we can do, and like O.J. the jury decided not to convict’, and the case is still history and closed. Can you see the play here?”
Bond believes the entire evening of September 7, 1996, never needed to happen in the first place, regardless of who killed Shakur. New documented evidence, new interviews, and never-before-released materials from law enforcement reinforce the claim Bond is making that the “Tupac Cover-Up” may- as the story goes- be worse than the crime itself. He recognizes his information may become a counter-narrative but believes the public needs to follow this lead and ask more questions.
“I believe Tupac himself would be speaking about blame versus justice. How many people have been falsely convicted for blame’s sake? Tupac understood that; he was facing rape charges for a crime he said he was innocent of. Are his fans okay with Vegas lining up 200 people who all say, ‘Davis told me he did it’ with no gun, no car, and no eyewitnesses? Just because it’s what everyone thinks happened doesn’t mean it’s what happened. I’m shocked his family and friends are so passive about the opacity of the Vegas case.
“This is going to leave a mark in history. We have to, as a culture, decide what kind of mark it will leave. “Tupac Assassination” looked at who may have done the crime. The new series will not be called “Tupac Assassination” because we are focused on why we are here today regardless of who actually did it. When you understand that, you understand more about who may have done the crime,” Richard ‘RJ’ Bond concluded
(WATCH the series online NOW on Tubi, HERE)
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