“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.
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.”
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
Luis Morales
The story of the feud between Tupac & Notorious B.I.G. has always been interesting to me. The story was great and the way the author told it seemed easy to read. During this time there was so much happening between the two rappers. It all started with who the two rappers were, how they became friends, and finally what drove them apart. The author wrote the story well, keeping me interested the whole time.
Isaac Rodriguez
I had known that Tupac had an important role in the film Poetic Justice, but I was not aware that Biggie had met him on the set of the film, and it’s sad that they went from good friends to enemies. I had heard stories from my mom about how Tupac was originally thought to have non-life threatening injuries and the shock of everyone upon the announcement of his passing. Because Tupac had been a victim of gun violence before, many thought he was invincible.
Yahaira Martinez
This has been a feud that was and still is to this day, very talked about and discussions still occur regarding it. Recently there has been mini series, small documentaries about who was truly behind Tupac’s shootings and if it was really Biggie who was behind the ambush that ended their friendship. I learned alot more about this topic through this article and was very informative.
Saira Castellanos
It stinks seeing that the two could never settle their differences before they died. Of course everyone has heard of these two men, but I didnt really know anything about them, or their music. Its weird how they were friends when they first met, but then it turned into a horrible rivalry. I did not know that biggie was murdered. Overall good article, and easy to follow. Maybe i will go listen to their music now.
Timothy ODekirk
This toxic relationship story of Tupac and B.I.G. is extremely interesting and disturbing at the same time. I just can’t help but to feel discussed when I read articles about famous people who have a fortune who decide to commit crimes, like O.J. Simpson. I just ask the question, why? Why, when a person has all the wealth one can dream of and is privileged, has to choose a life of crime. As we seen with previous cases with O.J., a life of crime with a popular name does not go well together. Despite that fact, it does make this story just as interesting, knowing how two close friends could be one of the most infamous rivals the U.S. has known for a long time, probably ever. This was an incredibly interesting article and it was extremely interesting to read about this disturbing case.
Iris Henderson
I enjoyed this article very much. I do wish that the author would have included Tupac’s roots in NYC (i.e. born and raised, schooling). However, I wasn’t aware that the two icons had met on the set of Poetic Justice. I also enjoyed the fact that the author described how close the two were before everything came quickly to a crashing halt and how the feud grew rapidly out of hand.
Hanadi Sonouper
This was an interesting article to read, I have heard about both of these rappers since my early days of middle school. All my classmates were such big Tupac and B.I.G fans, however I was not aware that the two successful rappers were friends, and that their toxic relationship lead to an unfortunate death of both of them. I enjoyed reading their article because of their backstory, this gave the article so much depth and highlights. It was consistently written and simple, which made it easy to understand all the big components involved in their friendship. The author did a great job at selecting a popular and requested topic, and writing a good article.
Michael Thomas
I found this article interesting because of how it details the friendship and rivalry of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Tupac thought of Biggie as a good friend when they met. But when Tupac was ambushed in the lobby of the recording studio, he believed that Biggie set him up, which soon began the hatred between the two. It was unfortunate that both of them died before settling their dispute.
Samuel Stallcup
Hip-Hop has been an important cultural element in the United States since its inception. It is really interesting to see the effects that Biggie’s and Tupac’s death had on America and the hip-hop community itself. Although there are positives, as highlighted in this article, there were negatives. I think you did a good job at exposing these negatives and the potential impacts that they can have on ANYONE. Great article.
Maricela Guerra
This story was so intense, everything about it was so shocking. The story was great and the way the author told it seemed easy to read. There was so much happening, starting out who the two rappers were, then how they became friends. Then to the rival and ended in tragedy, this was very impressive story telling. A well done to the author.