On the night of the Las Vegas shooting, only a car length separated him from Tupac Shakur. Yafeu Akiyele Fula, known as rapper Yaki Kadafi, was the youngest in Tupac’s inner circle: son of a close friend of Afeni Shakur and co-founder of what later became the Outlawz. Two months after Tupac, he died as well, at age 19, from a gunshot to the head in New Jersey. Many rumors surround his death; this page separates what is documented from what is claimed.
Two Mothers from the Black Panther Party
Kadafi was born on October 9, 1977. His mother, Yaasmyn Fula, came from the Black Panther Party circle like Afeni Shakur and was one of her closest friends. Later, she also worked alongside Tupac professionally. The auction house Sotheby’s describes her as a mentor who supported him, among other things, in setting up his company Euphanasia.
Kadafi and Tupac grew up like brothers; in the family, Kadafi was considered Tupac’s godbrother. Rumors that the two were half-brothers were already circulating in 1996. Police in Orange said at the time that they did not assume any blood relation; what connected them above all were the mothers, who were close friends. Older fan sources also still listed him as a half-brother.
From Dramacydal to the Outlaw Immortalz
In 1992, Kadafi formed a rap trio with Tupac’s cousin Kastro and Malcolm Greenidge, later known as E.D.I. Mean. He called himself Young Hollywood at the time. With Mutah Beale, later known as Napoleon, a childhood friend, this became Dramacydal. The group can be heard on Tupac’s Me Against the World (1995); on Runnin’, Kadafi, Kastro, and E.D.I. Mean share the first verse.
According to XXL, Tupac and Kadafi agreed on forming their own crew while Tupac was still in prison in 1995. A handwritten letter from Kadafi to Tupac offered at Bonhams in 2015 dates from this period: in it, he announces a prison visit and reports on conversations with Big Syke, Mopreme, and Tupac’s New York lawyer.
After Tupac’s release in October 1995, Dramacydal and other companions became the Outlaw Immortalz. Tupac named Kadafi after Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. According to common accounts, he also performed with Hussein Fatal as the duo Fatal-N-Felony; older fan sources, however, attribute the name “Felony” to Young Noble instead.
From “Hit ‘Em Up” to the Posthumous Albums
Kadafi raps the fourth verse of Hit ‘Em Up, the diss against Bad Boy from June 1996, and can be heard on All About U from All Eyez on Me. On the posthumous Makaveli album, he is among the voices on Hail Mary.
Many of his recordings from 1996 were released only after his death: When I Get Free II on R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997), numerous verses on Still I Rise (1999), Who Do U Believe In on Better Dayz (2002), and Soon As I Get Home on Pac’s Life (2006), the only track on that album that remained in its original version.
One Car Length Behind Tupac’s BMW
On September 7, 1996, Kadafi rode in the convoy to Club 662 in the car directly behind the BMW, with Suge Knight at the wheel and Tupac beside him. Bodyguard Frank Alexander drove the car, and E.D.I. Mean was in the car as well. Police questioned Kadafi only briefly after the shooting. In the days that followed, the Outlawz took turns keeping watch at Tupac’s hospital bed (see The Last Week).
For investigators, Kadafi remained an important witness. Las Vegas homicide Sergeant Kevin Manning said in November 1996 that he had been in contact with Kadafi’s lawyer since the shooting to bring him to Las Vegas for a second interview. That never happened.
Later accounts state that Kadafi said he might be able to recognize the shooter. That does not appear in the police statements reported by the Las Vegas Sun in 1996 and 1997. A court only addressed the Cadillac and its occupants in 2026 during the trial of Duane Davis, nearly 30 years after Kadafi’s death.
Shot Dead on the Third Floor in Orange
After Tupac’s death, Kadafi returned to New Jersey; he lived in Montclair. In the early morning of Sunday, November 10, 1996, police found him at about 3:45 a.m. in the third-floor hallway of an apartment building in Orange, where he had been visiting someone. He had been killed by a gunshot to the head. Police in Orange expected a swift arrest and said they currently saw no connection to the Shakur case.
Who fired the shot became public only later and indirectly. Complex wrote in 2015 that Kadafi had reportedly been shot accidentally by a cousin of Napoleon. In 2017, Napoleon, E.D.I. Mean, and Young Noble spoke about the case in an interview with VladTV. Kadafi’s mother later publicly disagreed: she said it was murder, and that witnesses had been pressured.
Whether the case ever went to court and with what outcome cannot be clarified using publicly available sources; XXL called it unsolved in 2017. There is no evidence for the theory that Kadafi was killed because he could have testified about Tupac’s murder (see Theories).
Verses Alongside His Godbrother
Kadafi was 19 years old. His mother, Yaasmyn Fula, has examined his life and death in books, including Spirit of an Outlaw about her son and Tupac. The other members are presented on the page Other Outlawz, the history of the group on The Outlawz.
On the albums of the Outlawz and on Tupac’s posthumous records, his verses permanently stand beside those of his godbrother.