Sold Out: Fans Empty the Shelves of Tupac's Records

As early as the evening of September 13, 1996, the rush for Tupac’s records began at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. By Saturday, his cassettes and CDs were sold out in several stores across the greater Los Angeles area, while video rental stores rented out his music videos and movies. One clerk described the clientele as diverse, spanning all age groups; many wanted to know what the rapper was actually about.

A Label in Crisis

In the same issue, the Los Angeles Times asked what would happen next with Death Row Records. In March, Dr. Dre had left the label, and now its biggest star was dead, fatally injured in the car of label boss Suge Knight. Industry figures who asked to remain anonymous spoke of a possible crisis: whether a comparatively small label could absorb such losses and still attract new artists remained an open question.

In Las Vegas, the coroner’s office had completed the autopsy on Friday evening and determined multiple gunshot wounds to be the cause of death.