Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips - a patchwork of gangs that ruled parts of Los Angeles in the 1990s - ordered the murder, according to prosecutor Binu Pilal.
The motive was that his nephew, in front of cameras, had been subjected to a humiliating beating by a rival gang including Tupac Shakur,
Two and a half hours later, Shakur was shot dead in a drive-by shooting from a white Cadillac. However, Davis did not fire the gun, but handed the gun to someone in the back seat of his car and ordered the person to shoot the rapper, the prosecution claims.
In repeated interviews over the years - with police, the media and finally in an autobiography - Davis has admitted his part in the murder.
"And now, 30 years later, we will ask you to finally hold Duane Davis accountable," Pilal said to the jury.
Davis, 63, denies all charges, but could face life in prison if convicted.
