Yesterday marked what would have been rapper Tupac Shakur's 48th birthday.

The New York-born rapper was shot dead at the age of 25 in 1996, and has become an icon of the hip-hop world with his various posthumous releases.

However, to this day no one has been prosecuted for his murder although there have been numerous conspiracy theories down through the years - including one that claims his death was staged and he is still alive.

Now, a former LAPD detective called Greg Kading says that a man called Orlando 'Baby' Anderson killed Shakur in a Las Vegas drive-by in 1996.

Anderson was the prime suspect in the case, but was never prosecuted and himself died following a gang-related shootout in 1998.

Kading told Today Australia: "Anderson was the guy that Tupac had a fight with earlier that evening and he came back and retaliated with his crew.

"There’s really not much mystery behind these murders, even though there’s a bunch of conspiracy surrounding them. When you just get down to the brass tacks of it they’re relatively simple."

He added: "All of the facts and evidence point to one thing and one thing only. They recognise that also and we’ve all embraced each other and recognise this to be the conclusive and definitive truth behind the murders."

Shakur has sold over 75 million albums and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.