American Marconi Wireless News - Las Vegas police obtain search warrant in Tupac murder case

The best-selling "California Love" artist was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in the Nevada city, aged just 25, and his killers have never been caught.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department "can confirm a search warrant was served" in the neighboring city of Henderson on Monday, the spokesperson said in a statement emailed to AFP.

The search is "part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation," it said, without providing any further details.

Shakur had a brief but spectacular career, rapidly rising from backup dancer to self-styled gangsta rapper and one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, who sold 75 million records.

Shakur also became a key figure in a vaunted rivalry, egged on by promoters, between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop.

Though born in New York, Shakur moved as a teenager with his family to California, becoming one of the most identifiable figures in the West Coast scene.

The circumstances of Shakur's death in September 1996 remain murky, and theories have long abounded.

Shakur's murder was followed six months later by the gunning down of his rival East Coast rapper Christopher "The Notorious BIG" Wallace.

Many believe they were slain as part of a rivalry between their music labels, LA-based Death Row and New York's Bad Boy Entertainment.

But some music historians say the coastal rift was exaggerated for commercial reasons.

Th.Berger--AMWN