Newly surfaced jailhouse call recordings could play a role in the upcoming murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who is accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur. Davis, 63, allegedly made incriminating statements about his involvement in the killing during a seven-minute call to a woman identified as his mistress.

Prosecutors contend that Davis, a member of the South Side Compton Crips, was in a vehicle with his nephew, Orlando Anderson, and provided the firearm used to shoot Shakur, 25, multiple times on Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas. Shakur died six days later.

Emergence of Evidence

The jail call, obtained by The Post, reportedly captures Davis discussing a book he authored, contradicting his previous claims that a ghostwriter penned it and that he had lied about orchestrating the murder. In the call, made shortly after his 2023 arrest, Davis appears to complain about former detective Greg Kading, whose 2011 book “Murder Rap” first named Davis as the alleged mastermind behind the hit. "He had my life f—ed up. I crawled up under a rock for six years. I just got tired of it," Davis is heard saying in the recording.

The prosecution is expected to present this call as evidence during Davis's trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday in Las Vegas. The recording also reportedly corroborates Davis's connection to other individuals, including Devonta “Dirt Rock” Lee, who is slated to be a witness in the trial.

The Night of the Shooting

Shakur, riding with label boss Marion “Suge” Knight, was shot on the Las Vegas strip following a Mike Tyson boxing match. Security camera footage captured an altercation between Shakur and Anderson, Davis's nephew, in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel shortly after the fight. According to Davis's account in his memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” he told Anderson they needed to retaliate after the beating. Davis and his associates then reportedly drove a rented white Cadillac in search of Shakur and Knight.

Davis claims in his book that he was in the front passenger seat with a .40-caliber Glock. He alleges he tossed the gun into the backseat after a stop at a liquor store. The vehicle then encountered Knight and Shakur, who were en route to Club 662. Davis reportedly pulled alongside their black BMW, and Shakur allegedly produced a weapon, at which point, according to Davis's book,