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LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implications of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal
Flaunt magazine declares LAbyrinth "absolutely impossible to put down" -- a book whose stunning discoveries are nonetheless "incredibly thorough and surprisingly credible." Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, and eventual...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
January 3rd 2003
by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
(first published 2002)
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The gist of whats going on in this book is that the author concludes, mainly through interviews with a detective that was on the Biggie Smalls murder case that the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were hits ordered by Suge Knight and were carried out by police officers who were affiliated with the Bloods street gang and worked as security for Knights Death Row record label.
I don't know if he gets it right or not but he does make a pretty good argument that this is the case. ...more
I don't know if he gets it right or not but he does make a pretty good argument that this is the case. ...more
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As a fan of both Tupac and Biggie, I was very interested in learning more about what really went down. Former Officer Poole seems to think he has the answers so I was eager to learn what he knows so I could draw my own conclusions. Mostly, I was very disappointed - especially by the author's extreme bias. For example, on page 14 of the hardcover version, Sullivan notes that "[In the early 1960s], as now, black males committed a hugely disproportionate amount of crime in Los Angeles and acro...more
This is a really good book, it tells the story of how some cops in Los Angeles started to go corrupt, they started to become gangsters and covering up murders for gangsters. The story tells about evidence and witnesses of the death of tupac shakur, and biggie smalls B.I.G, the were the biggest names in rap, the came up with songs still popular today. the story tells about an officer, kevin gaines who threatened one of his fellow officers after he found out he was working with gangs in L.A. this ...more
Despite the title, which brings to mind a quickly written and poorly researched book who's sole purpose is to capitalize on a sensationalistic crime, this is a book that clearly maps out the interconnected murders of Biggie Smalls, and Tupac. This is a well researched book that reads like a thriller. Even though I knew the end result, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat.
This book has it all, sex, drugs, murder, gangs, a corrupt police department, celebrity , money...more
It's true crime, it ain't hip hop, and no other book makes that distinction as clear. I'm not sure if this the definitive book on the Pac/Biggie murders, but it's one of the more influential ones, and Randall Sullivan certainly did some research for it; but he was pulling LAPD Internal Affairs reports, not back issues of The Source. Maybe that's all right, it's certainly not a bad thing to have a book about hip hop's most notorious murders that strips away the cult of celebrity and reminds us th...more
This book tells the story of LAPD and its involvement in the Shug Knight, Big-E Smalls, Tupac Shakur, and Death Row Records scandal. It delineates the story behind how the LA Crips and Bloods gangs were started, how rap and hip-hop in Southern California was started on the east coast, and why there exists a feud between the East and West coasts. Labryinth also explains the events which led up to LAPD’s Rampart Scandal and the detectives who were assigned to the shooting between an undercover det...more
Sam
added it
the book Labyrinth is good so far I am on chapter 2. chapter 2 mostly talks about the investigations and how the LAPD works on investigating the evidence in who was behind the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.
A CRAZY BOOK! This makes you look at things differently. Behind the murders of Tupac and Biggie. INSANE. Awesome book. Must read if you want to know the real story. Not at all about East Coast/West Coast.
Very cool and intersting read about biggie, pac, corruption and politics
This is a must read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a good review of the East Coast vs. West Coast feud and documenting the key players in the events surrounding the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., along with the corruption of the LAPD Rampart Division. I didn't realize till I was in the middle of reading the book that one of my favorite T.V. series The Shield was based on the corruption of the Rampart Division. Wouldn't recommend this book to everybody but if your into the history surrounding music or celebs, I would r...more
10.7 Beware the Ides of March
On March 15th in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, leader of Rome was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators...Read a book of True Crime. Ex. The Darkest Night: The Murder of Innocence in a Small Town
On March 15th in 44 BC, Julius Caesar, leader of Rome was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators...Read a book of True Crime. Ex. The Darkest Night: The Murder of Innocence in a Small Town
Damn Suge Knight...can't believe it, didn't know!! (Without spoiling too much for anyone who doesn't already know the dirt and rumors... :) ) This book may be something of a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel too bad for having consumed it as quickly as I did. If you're interested in knowing more about the East Coast-West Coast feud and Tupac's tragic death, it's required reading.
Very interesting information about the LAPD, but not very well written. Sullivan also does a good job identifying his own biases and explaining why he doesn't like the L.A. Times.
Probably as close to the truth as anyone has ever come. The case appears pretty open and shut but most likely it will never be closed and the murderers never caught. Which is to bad cause those guys were pretty talented and their families deserve some justice.
I found this book devastating in its indictment of the LAPD and of LA race politics generally. As a former (? can you ever be former?) Angeleno I felt profound shame at it all.
If you watch/love 'The Wire' you simply must read this.
If you watch/love 'The Wire' you simply must read this.
obviously, my obsession with Tupac has extended past his art and politics and into the scandals, crimes and shady shit that surrounded his life and death. so far, an okay account, well-researched it seems.
pretty detailed, almost too much, i just wanna get to the whodunit parts, but the writing is good and the interconnected stories are engaging.
written by a white detective but still pretty interesting
Phil Smith
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Thafade
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