“Biggie, remember when I use to let ya sleep on my couch, And beg the b**** to let ya sleep in the house. Now it’s all about Versace, you copied my style. Five shots couldn’t drop me, I took it, and smiled, Now I’m ’bout to set the record straight, with my AK. I’m still the thug that you love to hate” —Tupac Shakur
These were some of the strongly worded lyrics written by Tupac Shakur in the song “Hit ‘Em Up” after the believed betrayal of his once close friend, Christopher Wallace, also known as Notorious B.I.G or Biggie, and his record company, Bad Boy Records.1 The battle between these two infamous rappers was well known in the 1990’s as the Battle of the Coasts, West Coast vs. East Coast. So how did these two legendary rappers become such close friends, and how did it go sour between them?
The two rappers first met on the set of the film “Poetic Justice” in 1993, in which Tupac was featured. Biggie was visiting the set while Tupac was playing Biggie’s newly released single “Party & BullS***” on repeat. Biggie was flattered that such an advanced rapper was enjoying his music. Shakur eventually introduced himself to Biggie as a fan of his music. That’s when it clicked for the two. As their friendship began to grow, the two would hang out frequently at Tupac’s home in Los Angeles, where they smoked, drank, and wrote rhymes. This helped bring the two together and bond through their love of Hip-Hop. Little did they know that their friendship would later become one of the biggest feuds in Hip-Hop history.2
The two artist began to bond, and while Biggie Smalls was just making his breakthrough in the Hip-Hop industry, Tupac decided to take him under his wing and become his mentor because he was the more experienced artist, according to D-Dot in an interview. D-Dot was a close friend of both Tupac and Biggie.3 Shakur offered Smalls valuable advice, and even helped create the sound that made Smalls as big as he was. As their relationship grew and Shakur continued to mentor him, Biggie assumed that, since the two had been spending a lot of time together and had become close, he could ask Tupac to become his manager, according to Ben Westhoff.4 Tupac kindly declined, saying that Biggie’s manager “Puff Daddy” would take Biggie where he wanted to be in the charts, telling him that he was going to make it big in the industry.
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Their friendship lasted one year, and the two made back and forth trips between Los Angeles and New York. Over time Tupac began to like the respect he received from the East Coast and became involved with some very dangerous shot callers, high-ranked gang affiliates, of the East Coast. Biggie warned Tupac about getting involved with particular individuals, because he knew just how dangerous some could be, and they weren’t afraid to take a life; but Shakur assumed he was on good terms with everyone.5
Tupac was being convicted of sexual assault charges and was looking at serving up to twenty-five years behind bars. On November 30, 1994, he made a stop in Harlem, New York, and was supposed to go to Quads Recording Studio to record with “Little Shawn,” an east coast rapper, since it would possibly be his last recording session for a long time. After a situation involving payment, the recording session was delayed, and Tupac finally arrived at midnight. Once he walked into the lobby, he was ambushed by three men in army fatigues, held at gunpoint, robbed, and then shot multiple times. According to Tupac, when he saw the faces of Biggie and Puff Daddy shortly after the incident, their faces looked guilty. This led Tupac to believe that Biggie knew about the set up and didn’t warn him in advance. That was the end of their friendship.6
On December 1, 1994, less than one day after the shooting, Shakur showed up to court bandaged up and in a wheelchair. He was found guilty of sexual assault and then sentenced to prison for a year and a half to four and a half years on February 8, 1995.7 During his time behind bars, Biggie released a track titled “Who Shot Ya,” which led Tupac to believe that it was a diss-track aimed at him because of the robbery, but Biggie discredited that claim. Shakur appealed his convictions and a New York judge released him on $1.4 million bail with the help of Surge Knight after he signed to Death Row Records.8 Tupac became as ruthless as ever, once he was released. He went to the extent of making the claim that he slept with Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans, and that Biggie was stealing his style because he was the superior in the industry, which he emphasized in his diss track “Hit ‘Em Up.”
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On the night of September 7, 1996, the feud between the two came to a climax when Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas. He was placed in the intensive care unit. Days later, Tupac was pronounced dead from internal bleeding caused by multiple gun wounds.9 But the murder of Tupac was not the end of their situation. On March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Many believe his death was a result of the toxic relationship between himself and Tupac.10 Although both legends were killed and the issues between the two were never resolved, the two brought the West Coast vs. East Coast rivalry to life.11 It continues, and so does their legacy that was left behind.
- Stereo Williams, “Tupacs Hit Em Up: The Most Savage Diss Track Ever Turns 20,” The Daily Beast, June 04, 2016, accessed February 11, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/tupacs-hit-em-up-the-most-savage-diss-track-ever-turns-20. ↵
- Candace Sandy and Dawn Marie Daniels, How long will they mourn me?: the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur (New York: Random House, 2006), 54. ↵
- “D-Dot talks Tupac & Biggie’s Early Friendship,” Interview by VladTV, D-Dot talks Tupac, biggie’s friendship before beef, November 11, 2013. ↵
- Ben Westhoff, Original gangstas: the untold story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the birth of West Coast rap (New York: Hachette Books, 2016),267. ↵
- Tayannah Lee McQuillar and Freddie Lee Johnson, Tupac Shakur: the life and times of an American icon (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2010), 137. ↵
- MusicVibe | September 13, “V Vintage (1996): Kevin Powell Interviews Tupac,” Vibe, February 24, 2015, , accessed March 08, 2018, https://www.vibe.com/2010/09/v-vintage-1996-kevin-powell-interviews-tupac/. ↵
- Natalie Finn, “Untangling the Conspiracies Surrounding Tupac Shakurs Unsolved Murder,” E! Online, February 25, 2018, accessed March 07, 2018, http://www.eonline.com/news/915786/the-unsolved-murder-of-tupac-shakur-untangling-the-epic-layers-of-conspiracy-surrounding-the-case. ↵
- Chuck Philips and Alan Abrahamson, “Rapper leaves tangled financial, legal legacy,” Los Angeles Times, December 24, 1996, accessed March 05, 2018, http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-shakurlegacy24dec2496-story.html. ↵
- Michel Marriott, “Shots Silence Angry Voice Sharpened by the Streets,” The New York Times, September 15, 1996, accessed February 13, 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/16/us/shots-silence-angry-voice-sharpened-by-the-streets.html. ↵
- Carrie Wittmer, “The murders of Biggie and Tupac are still a mystery after 20 years – here are all the theories about them,” Business Insider, March 27, 2017, accessed February 13, 2018, http://www.businessinsider.com/biggie-and-tupac-murder-theories-cases-suspects-2017-3/#but-then-a-violent-rivalry-started-2. ↵
- Meghan Giannotta, “A look at Tupac and Biggie’s infamous hip-hop feud,” Am New York, February 20, 2018, accessed March 05, 2018, https://www.amny.com/entertainment/east-coast-vs-west-coast-rivalry-a-look-at-tupac-and-biggie-s-infamous-hip-hop-feud-1.13742586. ↵
81 comments
Vania Gonzalez
It is always so interesting to me to learn about rappers and their past just because of all the drama that goes on behind the “scenes”. Tupac and Biggie are probably two of the most notorious rappers in history and their music is great with a lot of meaning so for them to think they were dissing each other is common because in their style it gets very personal and they rap about what the truth to their lives are. This article just explains more of the rivalry that happens between rappers all the time and would could possibly sometimes be the outcome because of their lifestyle.
Malik Heard
I listen to both of these artist music and they are recognized as some of the best rappers to have ever lived .I was aware of Tupac’s and Biggies friendship and I wish they would have made an album together. Instead they became rivals that were really involved in gangs in the west and east coast and both ended up getting shot to death.
Nadia Carrasco
Being a fan of both of these artist I happen to vaguely know their story together. After reading this article the story is much more clear to me now. It is crazy how a friendship can turn for the worst so quickly. Although times were different then, their friendship was very special to a lot of people. This was a huge tragedy in hip-hop history and still continues to be talked about.
Daniela Martinez
I was aware of how influential these two rappers were, and the impact they made in music. However, I didn’t know much about their involvement in gangs and how that would later impact their friendship and careers. Although personally am not very interest in this genre of music, the article was informative and allowed for a deep understanding of their impact and importance to the development of this genre.
Diamond Davidson
Reading this makes me understand that I had some false information given to me because I thought Biggie got killed before Tupac and Tupac made a “run” for it that’s the reason why people believed that Tupac is still alive, but I guess not. I just hate to see how fame could ruin many friendships and make many of those relationships toxic to the point where one or more people die in the situation. But I really love how this story was put together and the pictures were really great and made me visualize a few things that was happening in your article.
Nawaf Almarwaie
Biggie and Tupac became a close friends in 1990’s and started to spend more time together, not only that but they started to write their songs together, they smoked, and drank together, moreover, they started to go forth and back together which made them really close friends. however, their friendship had end after Tupac started to hangout with one of the dangerous fatal gangs from the east side, however, Biggie advised him to stay away from them but Shakur refused to listen to his friend. after short time, Shakur was shot couple times and he blamed Biggie and assumed that he was known and did not tell him. they started to dis each other. at the end Tubac got killed in 1996, and shortly after that Biggie got killed in LA in 1997. which ends a big chapter in hip-hop music.
Leonardo Gallegos
It is sad that great artist like Tupac and B.I.G. let the their emotions get the best out of them, I believe that their issues were generated because of the enormous competitions these two had. It goes out to show how toxic fame can be especially if it’s mixed with the thug life that both of these artists promoted frequently. Despite their differences, these two individuals impacted the world of hip hop greatly. Great Article!
Vanessa Sanchez
This is probably a sad article to read if you’re sensitive. It just shows us readers insight on what happened to them two. It started off as a friendship but apparently Biggie betrayed Tupac but the ended is just tragic. Tupac was killed outside of the Hotel while a few days later, Biggie was killed in a drive by. The two was good friends but the music industry really affected their friendship and sadly, it led to this ending. They were both amazing artist, even til this day, everyone would listen to their songs everywhere i go. This article really brought out the friendship and tragedy of them two. It was structured well and had their information in check.
Michael Hinojosa
It’s kind of wild to know that this friendship turned to toxic and so deadly so fast. I remember hearing about all of this on the news but I didn’t really pay it too much mind since I wasn’t invested in hiphop like a lot of other people were. I actually don’t know what possessed me to read this article but I’m really glad I did. Even though I’m still not invested in hiphop now I still felt that this article was strong and informative, giving all of us a taste from a more different side of history.
Rosario Moreno
It is crazy how a once great friendship can get so deadly. I never knew the feud was as large as a coast to coast. The title of the article is what first intrigued me. It was the money fame and power among the hip-hop industry that ultimately destroyed these great artist. Overall loved the article, I liked how you included the lyrical quote at the beginning, you could definitely get a sense the diss.