On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop. Sitting ringside was controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur and Tyson were friends, a feeling of kinship linked them as each rose to stardom from poverty only to be thrown in prison. Following Tyson’s victory, Shakur and “Iron Mike” were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived. Shakur was brutally gunned down later that night, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill fated and inopportune tragedy.
Mike Tyson
Self
Ernest R. Dickerson
Self
Nas
Self
Mickey Rourke
Self
Mopreme Shakur
Self
Tupac Shakur
Self (archive footage)
Chris Connelly
Self
Suge Knight
Self
Eric Adams
Self (as Senator Eric Adams)
Maya Angelou
Self
Michael Eric Dyson
Self
Jamal Joseph
Self
Al Sharpton
Self
