Makaveli - To Live & Die In L.A.

What this video is

Filmed July 23, 1996, and released posthumously in December 1996 following Tupac Shakur's death in September of that year, this video functions simultaneously as a celebratory love letter to Los Angeles and an inadvertent elegy. Shot under the Makaveli alias — Tupac's alter ego tied to 'The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory' — the video situates L.A. itself as the primary subject, intercutting performance footage…

Why it matters

Represents a defining artifact of the Death Row Records West Coast hip-hop visual canon. The video's documentary-inflected approach — privileging authentic L.A. geography over constructed sets — helped cement the city-as-protagonist template that would influence West Coast rap video aesthetics…

The director

Emmy and Grammy-nominated director and producer born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. Career spanning over 40 years in music television production. Launched music video career directing Eazy-E's 'We Want Eazy.' Holds the distinction of being the…