Kamala Harris names Tupac the 'best rapper alive' - 24 years after he was shot dead in Las Vegas drive-by

 Kamala Harris named Tupac the 'best rapper alive', 24 years after he was shot dead in a Las Vegas drive-by.  

The Democratic vice presidential candidate made the gaffe during an interview with CNN's Angela Rye at the NAACP's virtual convention Friday, sending social media users into overdrive and fueling fresh debate around the 'Tupac Lives' conspiracy. 

'Best rapper alive?' Rye asked Harris in the videoconference interview. 

Harris paused for a second and answered: 'Tupac.'

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Kamala Harris named Tupac the 'best rapper alive', 24 years after he was shot dead in a Las Vegas drive-by in an interview with CNN's Angela Rye at the NAACP's virtual convention Friday

The two women started laughing and Rye pointed out that the New York rapper has been dead for more than two decades.

'He's not alive!' cried Rye. 'You say he lives on?'

Harris laughed and replied: 'Not alive, I know, I keep doing that.' 

Rye jokingly defended the gaffe, pointing to the conspiracy theories that Tupac could be alive: 'Listen, West Coast girls think Tupac lives on; I'm with you. So Tupac keep going.'  

'I keep doing that,' Harris repeated and then seemed to struggle to come up with the name of any living rapper to answer the question.

'Who would I say? I mean there's so many, you know?' she said.

'There's some I would not mention right now because they should stay in their lane but others...' 

Rye laughingly replied 'I don't know what that means' before Harris, without elaborating on her meaning, told her to move on from the question.

'Keep going, keep going, keep moving Angela,' the former DA said, to which Rye replied: 'That was not supposed to be a stumper.' 

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The two women laughed and Rye pointed out the New York rapper has been dead for more than two decades

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Tupac Shakur (pictured) was shot dead in a drive-by in Las Vegas on September 7 1996. Wild conspiracy theories have circulated for years that he is still alive

Hip hop star Tupac Shakur was shot multiple times in a car on the night of September 7 1996 after he had gone to a Mike Tyson boxing match at the MGM Grand.

Tupac, former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight and his bodyguards got into a fight with a member of the notorious Crips gang in the casino lobby.

Soon after, Tupac and Knight were in a car stopped at a traffic light when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside them and shot into the car. 

Tupac was shot four times in the arm, thigh and chest and died in hospital aged 25. 

No one was ever charged for his murder.  

The rapper has been the subject of wild conspiracy theories that he faked his own death and is still alive. 

Theories range from his death being staged by the Illuminati to him being put under witness protection and given a new identity by authorities, and many alleged sightings have been reported worldwide. 

The vice presidential candidate's slip-up sparked renewed speculation over the rapper's death, with several people taking to Twitter to suggest Harris knows the rapper is alive and well. 

'Kamala keeps naming Tupac best rapper alive because she knows something,' one person tweeted.

'Hope she can drop some knowledge on Biggie as well when she gets to the White House,' they added, referring to Tupac's rival The Notorious B.I.G., who was shot dead in LA the year after Tupac.  

Another person also suggested Harris had unwittingly let it slip the government had placed Tupac in witness protection.

'Out of all of the alive rappers Kamala could have picked... she chose Tupac. Maybe she knows something we don't. Did she put him in witness protection,' they tweeted. 

Social media users went into overdrive after Harris' slip-up sparking fresh debate that the hip hop star faked his own death

Others slammed Harris for feigning interest in rap to try to connect with black voters

Many pointed to a radio interview in February where Harris said she listened to Tupac and Snoop Dogg while smoking marijuana in her college days 

Others slammed the California Democrat and former prosecutor accusing her of feigning interest in rap music to try to connect with black voters.  

'Either Kamala Harris is out-of-touch with modern hip-hop, or............ a sitting US Senator with SCI Security Clearance just let slip that Tupac is alive,' one person tweeted. 

Another added: 'Kamala Harris has her finger on the pulse of the black community. Tupac has been dead for two decades.' 

Many pointed to a radio interview in February where Harris said she listened to Tupac and Snoop Dogg while smoking marijuana in her college days. 

Conservatives instantly tried to discredit her story saying neither artist released an album until after she graduated from Howard University in Washington.

'The same Kamala Harris who said she smoked weed while listening to 2pac.... before his first album came out,' one person recalled on social media.  

Another also pointed out the connection with her latest slip-up: 'Kamala Harris once said she smoked weed listening to Tupac in college, when he had not made music yet. Now she claims Tupac is the best rapper alive.' 

Harris was speaking at the NAACP event about racism, the coronavirus pandemic and her vision for America's future. 

Tupac lives: Some of the wild conspiracy theories 

• Fidel Castro helped smuggle him into Cuba. There have been numerous supposed sightings of the rapper in Old Havana where many locals believe he lives. Conspiracy theorist Michael Nice claimed Tupac survived the drive-by shooting and he and then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro helped get him into the country because there was a hit on his head. 
• He is living with the Navajo tribe in New Mexico. Filmmaker and conspiracy theorist Rick Boss claims Tupac was either injured in the shooting and escaped in a helicopter or used a body double to fake his death. He flew to New Mexico via the University Medical Center in Vegas and is being protected by the Navajo.
• His death was staged by the Illuminati. Suge J. Knight, the son of former Death Row Records CEO and Tupac's friend Suge Knight who was in the car when Tupac was shot claims Tupac is living in Malaysia and his death was staged by the powerful secret group. Suge Jr also shared images of what looks like an older Tupac with Beyonce and 50 Cent. His father said Tupac was laughing after the shooting and that his friend had spoken about faking his death before the drive-by.