Green’s Dictionary of Slang

tape n.2

In phrases

put up tape (v.) [the crime-scene tape that police put up around the site of a fatal shooting]

2010s US black to commit a gang killing; this in fig. use, to gain credibility and status.

J. Leovy Ghettoside 170: ‘Puttin’ up tape’ was a phrase used a little like ‘earning stripes.’ A member who ‘put up tape’ had executed a successful mission — killing or maiming a rival with gunfire.