Shakur, from Los Angeles, was killed by a young gang member, also now dead, who had been paid $1m (£638,000) by rap rival Notorious BIG, the respected paper says.

It identifies the murderer as Orlando Anderson, 21, who was attacked by Shakur and his entourage on the night Shakur was murdered.

No one has been convicted of the killing of Shakur, who was shot in his car on 7 September 1996 on the Las Vegas strip after watching a Mike Tyson fight.

The paper also said Anderson used a pistol provided by the Notorious BIG, real name Christopher Wallace.

Notorious BIG was also murdered

There has always been speculation Shakur, from the West Coast, died because of his rivalry with Wallace, 24, an East Coast-based rapper.

Wallace was shot six months later in Los Angeles, a murder that has also remained unsolved.

Gang violence also claimed Anderson's life.

Anderson has often been cited as the prime suspect in Shakur's killing, but police said they could not make a case as witnesses in Shakur's entourage would not help them.

During the investigation, reporters said they interviewed gang members from Anderson's gang, the infamous Southside Crips, who had not previously spoken out.

The paper's investigation took police affidavits, court records and interviews with witnesses to conclude Crips gang members spoke to Wallace in order to gain financially from a killing they had already decided to carry out.

Revenge beating

Shakur and Wallace had been good friends but had fallen out and began a very public feud.

According to the paper, on the night of his death, Shakur and his bodyguards attacked Anderson in a hotel in revenge for an attack on one of the entourage at a shopping centre.

Instead of speaking to the police, Anderson rang gang members, met in a hotel room and decided to kill Shakur the same night, the paper went on.

They then met Wallace and demanded $1m - according to people who said they were present - which the rapper allegedly agreed to on the condition they used his .40-calibre pistol.

Just days before Wallace himself was fatally shot in 1997, asked by a radio station host whether he had been involved, the rapper said he "wasn't that powerful yet".