Dead Wrong: The Continuing Story of City of Lies, Corruption and Cover-Up in the Notorious B.I.G. Murder Investigation

Rolling Stone contributing editor Sullivan digs into the unsolved murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.) in this well-researched, if dense, follow-up to Labyrinth. Here, Sullivan alleges that there was a conspiracy by the Los Angeles Police Department to conceal its complicity in the assassination of Wallace, which involved dirty cops who worked in a unit that was assigned to gang-affiliated rappers, and, specifically, Marion “Suge” Knight, the owner of Death Row Records. Sullivan unveils a varied cast, including David Mack, a former LAPD officer and convicted bank robber; Bernard Parks, the African-American head of the LAPD, whose daughter was a drug mule for a gang leader; and Ahmir Muhammad, a reputed Nation of Islam assassin who the author posits was the person who shot Wallace. (Many believe that B.I.G.’s murder was payback for his alleged hit on Tupac, his onetime friend turned bitter enemy. But, as Sullivan points out, Voletta Wallace, Notorious B.I.G.’s mother, remained friendly with Tupac’s mom, Afeni Shakur.) Sullivan unveils witnesses who had never been interviewed and a dizzying array of data, which, while comprehensive, slows the pace. In 2005, Wallace’s mother filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles (which ended in a mistrial) and declared, “What I need from this lawsuit, is that the person or persons who murdered my son are brought to justice.” Sullivan writes passionately and smartly about his subject, but details stifle the narrative. [em](June) [/em]