Jury selection began Monday in Las Vegas in the murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former street gang leader accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed rapper Tupac Shakur.
Davis, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and faces a potential sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.
Around 75 prospective jurors were summoned for questioning, with opening arguments scheduled for August 17.
Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, after attending a boxing match at the MGM Grand with Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight.
Earlier that night, surveillance footage showed Shakur and members of his entourage attacking Orlando Anderson, Davis' nephew and an alleged member of the South Side Compton Crips.
Hours later, a white Cadillac pulled alongside the BMW carrying Shakur and Knight and opened fire.
Shakur was struck four times and died six days later at age 25.
The investigation remained unresolved for nearly three decades as authorities pursued numerous tips but struggled with limited physical evidence and uncooperative or deceased witnesses.
Police said Davis' later public statements reinvigorated the case.
In interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, Davis described being inside the Cadillac and supplying the gun used in the shooting, while never claiming that he fired it.
Prosecutors allege Davis organized the killing in retaliation for Anderson's beating and provided the weapon as part of gang-related criminal activity.
Authorities arrested Davis in 2023 after searching his home and reviewing evidence connected to his public accounts.
Davis' defense has challenged the reliability of his memoir, arguing that portions were embellished or fictionalized for profit.
Davis recently denied being in Las Vegas during the killing and said a ghostwriter wrote the book.
The trial, expected to last up to five weeks, could feature more than 200 potential witnesses, including Knight.
The proceedings bring one of American popular culture's most enduring unsolved killings before a jury 30 years after Shakur's death.