Suge Knight, a friend and associate of late rapper Tupac Shakur, has revealed that Tupac was cremated after his death and that his ashes were later smoked by his mother and others.

Knight made the revelation amid the ongoing trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is accused of orchestrating Tupac’s 1996 killing, according to TMZ.

Tupac was shot in a drive-by attack in 1996 and died six days later after being placed on life support.

Knight, who was with Tupac on the night of the shooting, said the rapper’s mother requested that his body be cremated following his death.

According to Knight, he contacted a funeral home worker to arrange the cremation, but the individual initially refused to help.

He said he eventually went to the worker’s home and offered him $200,000, as well as $1 million in cash, after making several attempts to get the cremation arranged.

Knight said that after Tupac’s ashes were collected, his mother invited people to the hotel where she was staying in Las Vegas.

He said she then rolled the ashes into several blunts, which she and others smoked.

Knight said he did not participate because he was on probation and smoking could have violated the conditions of his restriction.

Knight’s account comes as Davis faces trial nearly three decades after Tupac was fatally shot in Las Vegas.

Davis, a former Los Angeles-area gang leader, was arrested in September 2024 and has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge involving the use of a deadly weapon in connection with gang activity.

The trial began after jury selection was completed a week earlier.

During the proceedings, prosecuting lawyer Binu Palal told the court that Davis had “visceral anger” towards Tupac following an earlier attack on Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, his nephew.

Palal alleged that Davis subsequently obtained a gun and gave it to Anderson, who used it to shoot at Tupac’s vehicle in Las Vegas.

The prosecutor said the case remained unresolved for years because “silence means survival” within gang circles.

However, he argued that Davis was different because he allegedly struggled to keep silent about his involvement.

Palal also referred to interviews and a book in which Davis allegedly discussed his role in the events surrounding Tupac’s killing.

Davis’ defence lawyer, Michael Sanft, rejected the prosecution’s account, arguing that Palal had presented “fictional details as fact”.

Sanft also challenged the police investigation into the murder, alleging that several investigative records were missing.

He accused the police departments involved in the investigation of “misconduct and incompetence”, particularly over the handling and testing of the alleged murder weapon.

The defence lawyer further alleged that the Los Angeles Police Department gave detective Long a “fake” gun to test.

Sanft also criticised detective Clifford Mogg’s handling of the investigation, describing his work as “biased, sloppy and incomplete” and alleging that he failed to properly document reports after receiving information about the killing.

He also questioned the reliability of prosecution witnesses, describing them as “unreliable people with criminal records, financial motivations and inconsistent statements”. (Nigerian Tribune)