Tupac shared secret plans to 'leave Death Row Records' before he was killed

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Tupac had lined up plans that would have surprised the rap world before he died, according to Keyshia Cole.

Singer-songwriter Cole, who says she was with the rapper the night he was killed in a drive-by shooting, made the revelation during an Instagram Live conversation with Fat Joe.

It’s known that Tupac took Cole under his wing when he was 25, and is said to have asked her to write a hook for a new project he was working on the night he died in 1996.

Now, Cole claims that Tupac was going to leave Death Row Records to sign with Quincy Jones’ record label.

“I actually did know him (Tupac),” Cole said. ”He wanted to sign me to Quincy Jones when he was with Kidada, Quincy’s daughter, and he was gonna leave Death Row and go to sign with Quincy.

“He wanted me to go over there because he said that Death Row was not the place for kids.”

The record label, which launched artists including Tupac and Snoop Dogg, was formed in 1991 by Suge Knight, Dr Dre, The DOC and Dick Griffey.

Its success declined shortly after Tupac’s death.

Cole – who was 16 at the time – knew the rapper through her brother Nuttso, who is a member of the The Outlawz, whom Tupac helped form.

Written while he was in prison on 15 January 1995, the letter went to auction in 2019 for $100,000 (£76,400), despite Madonna attempting to block its sale.