Coming Monday: Deconstructing the rap war

Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer Chuck Philips deconstructs the 1994 ambush of at the Quad Recording Studio in New York - the first shot of a lethal, bi-coastal feud that culminated in the killings of Shakur and rap’s other leading star, Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G.

Until the night he was murdered in 1996, the rap star insisted that associates of Sean “Diddy” Combs were behind the brutal ambush at the Quad. New information - FBI records and exclusive interviews with individuals who were at the studio that night - support his suspicions. Accompanied by a vivid photo-gallery of the cast of characters, copies of confidential documents, an interactive timeline and audio of lyrics and videos from Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., Philips pieces together a case that has left many in the music world as well as law enforcement officials baffled.

Be sure to check this address -- latimes.com/tupac -- for the full story on Monday morning. Philips is also scheduled to conduct a live chat with readers on Tuesday.