November 05, 1996

Crowds turn out to buy Shakur album

By Cathy Scott
LAS VEGAS SUN

Just past the stroke of midnight, 19-year-old Lisee Shans got what she was waiting for: the last album Tupac Shakur recorded before he was shot to death.

The late rapper's fifth album, "Makaveli," goes on sale on record racks today. But at Odyssey Records, which is open 24 hours a day, today meant 12:01 a.m.

"I'm first," said the 19-year-old Shans, who stood at the counter for two hours waiting to make her $9.99 purchase. "I have all his albums, and I wanted to be the first one in Vegas to get the tape."

CC Miller, 28, who was second in line, said she took off early from her job at a casino where she works so she could buy the 12-song CD.

Employee Rachel Jaspe, watching the clock as security officers outside dealt with traffic in the parking lot, answered the store's phone with, "Good evening, Tupac specialist. It goes on sale at 12 midnight ... Thanks for calling."

Fans have been waiting patiently for the album since the 25-year-old rapper was shot to death in Las Vegas last month.

"Makaveli," produced by Death Row Records, is the late gangsta rappers's last album. After Shakur's "All Eyez on Me" album was released in February, it sold more than 3 million copies, and record store clerks predict the latest album will do even better.

Record stores are predicting a run on "Makaveli" when sales begin today.

Heavyweight Boxer Mike Tyson, who lives in Las Vegas, tried to buy the album a day early from Tower Records on West Sahara Avenue, general manager Steve Unmack said.

"Mike Tyson came in looking for it today," he said. "He didn't believe us when we told him it wasn't available yet. We told him to come back tomorrow."

Shakur had attended Tyson's bout against Bruce Seldon Sept. 7 at the MGM Grand Garden. Two hours later, Shakur was shot in a car-to-car incident just off the Strip, at Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records which produced "Makaveli" was driving the car Shakur was in. Knight suffered a minor head injury from shrapnel and glass fragments.

Julie Mernin, store director for Odyssey Records in the 1600 block of Las Vegas Boulevard, said she expects to sell most of their "Makaveli" stock of 1,200 cassette tapes and CDs this week.

And if it sells out, "we have another shipment arriving on Thursday," she said.

ShaMarcus Simmons, who stood toward the back of the line with his friends - all students at UNLV, described Shakur as "our soldier."

His friends didn't want to wait until later today to buy the album.

"I want it tonight," Tony Chambliss said.

A steady flow of customers at Odyssey Records continued late this morning. An employee said a count of how many Shakur albums had been sold had not yet been tallied.

As customers queued up, Shakur's album played in the background.

On the first single on the track, six rounds of gunfire can be heard before the rapper breaks into song. Right before that a voice is heard saying, "Tupac's not here to comment."

Shakur had finished recording the album a few weeks before the shooting. Tupac was hit four times -- in the chest, hip and hand. Doctors removed his right lung to stop the bleeding, but he died six days later.

Metro Police said the investigation into the shooting is at a standstill. No arrests have been made.

"There's nothing new," homicide Lt. Larry Spinosa said.

Rumors that Shakur was either shot over a Los Angeles-based gang rivalry or an East Coast-West Coast rap war have not been substantiated, Spinosa said.

The only incident at Odyssey Records early today was one in which a youth "ran out of the store without paying for a tape," said Metro Sgt. Brett Zimmerman.

Patrol and bike officers kept an eye on the parking lot after security called them to the store.

"They're just worried about rival gangs showing up," one officer said.

"It should be OK unless somebody goofs off," Zimmerman noted. "There's no problem. We're just going to monitor." More Information