Beefs
Battles have always been a prominent part of rap – whether it being freestyle or not. Tupac has always had the name and fame of being a controversial rapper. Fellow rap artists and even politicians have had their say about his life and career. Tupac was not the kind of person to let this pass unnoticed and faught many battles…
-
Bad Boy Entertainment
No doubt the biggest and best known: the beef between Tupac and Death Row Records on the ‘West Coast’ and Bad Boy Entertainment (C.E.O. Sean “Puff Daddy/Puffy/P. Diddy/Diddy/Whatever” Combs, big star Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls” Wallace and smaller acts such as Junior M.A.F.I.A.) on the ‘East Coast’
At first, Tupac was quite close to the Bad Boy Entertainment-crew, at that time still a small label on the rise. He used to let Biggie touch the show in the middle of his own and supported him both professionally and financially (Tupac bought Biggie’s first Rolex watch). It is known that Puffy even asked him to join the Bad Boy family (Tupac refused and later joined Death Row Records). Their relationship changed drastically one November night in 1994.
Although they always claimed not to have been involved in the attack, Tupac found it hard to believe they didn’t know who did it – especially since it happened on their territory. While incarcerated, Tupac found out who attacked him, which only fed his suspision that Puffy and Biggie were at least holding back information. In the meantime, Bad Boy grew to become a multi million dollar corporation and Biggies album conquered the charts in true 2Pac-style.
The rivalry might have or have not resulted in Tupac’s death in 1996, it could have well been the trigger for Biggie’s killing only 6 months later. -
Jay-Z
Former C.E.O. of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records and current Mr. Beyoncé Knowles seemed to want to get his name made in the early days of his career by getting involved in the rivalry between Tupac and Bad Boy Entertainment. It all started when Jay-Z released “Brooklyns Finest” alongside The Notorious B.I.G.. Responding in among others “Hit ’em Up” and “Bomb First (My Second Reply)”, the feud never got cleared before Tupacs death. In 2002, Jay-Z struck again by making a poor “Me and My Girlfriend”-remake entitled “03 Bonnie & Clyde” and featuring his wife Beyoncé
-
Nas
Without any clear reason (other than a quick way to fame maybe?) Nas got himself involved in a beef. Tupac was actually not happy with this situation and made this clear to Nas when they met at the House of Blues. Tupac told him not to get involved, that he should not get caught up in it because he and Death Row Records had nothing but love for him. But then Nas released “The Message” – a song in which he claims to be shot (in a similar way as Tupac in 1994) and to be leading a ‘Thug Life’. Tupac took offence and retaliated in “Against All Odds” telling Nas to stop biting his style.
Nas claims the beef was settled before Tupac died and he even appeared on “Better Dayz”s “Thugz Mansion”. This didn’t seem to convince Snoop Dogg though, who said in an MTV-documentary that he hates it that rappers now come out doing rhymes with 2Pac, knowing well that when he was alive, he hated them. -
Mobb Deep
Was it their response to the Dogg Pounds “NY, NY” or was it their claim of Thug Life that got the beef started? Either way, Tupac referred to them in “Hit ’em Up” and “When We Ride on Our Enemies” - they struck back heavily with “Drop a Gem on ’em”. Although this seemed to be a quite serious beef, Mobb Deep have shown respect to Tupac on numerous occasions after his passing.
-
Chino XL
Small-time New Jersey rapper Chino XL referred to a rumour started by Wendy Williams on his track “Riiiot!”, claiming that Tupac got raped in jail. Tupac sent him a ‘fuck you’ in “Hit ’em Up” and Chino XL responded in some songs, including a several minute long freestyle on a New York-radio station.
-
Dr. Dre
Although they scored a monster hit (“California Love”) together, Tupac and Dr. Dre didn’t get along all that well. Frankly, Tupac thought Dre was getting too much credit (and money) for not doing all that much at Death Row Records. Things escalated when Snoop Dogg was on trial and Dre ‘was too busy’ to go to court and support him. Tupac found this to be a lack of loyalty. After Dre left Death Row Records to start his own Aftermath Entertainment, Tupac also questioned Dre’s sexuality in public on more than one occasion. Dre never actually responded and even gave Tupac a proper tribute during the 2000 “Up in the Smoke Tour”, saying it was a bliss to have worked with him.
-
LL Cool J
Tupac had a lot of respect for LL Cool J, giving him props in “Old School” and admitting that it was LLs “I’m Bad” that inspired him to start writing his own rhymes. The reason for Tupacs diss in the unreleased “Little Homies” should be sought in Cool Js “I Shot Ya”, which he believed referred to Biggies “Who Shot Ya?”. If LL Cool J ever responded, he did it well after Tupacs death, in “Phenomenon”.
-
C. Delores Tucker
As a U.S. politician and civil rights activist, the late Ms. C. Delores Tucker saw it as her duty to ban all rap music from the world because of its often explicit lyrics. Mentioning her in “How Do U Want It?” and “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch”, she seemed to see Tupac as the root of all evil. She fought against the NAACPs decision to nominate him for one of its Image Awards and, furthermore, filed a $10 million lawsuit against his estate, claiming those songs ruined her sex life. The lawsuit was only filed after his death and was eventually dismissed.
Not only Tupac had problems with her actions, shes also referred to in many other rap songs by different artists. -
Wendy Williams
On her “Hot 97” show in 1995, Wendy Williams aired rumours that Tupac was raped in prison, during his time at Rikers Island. This rumour was later referenced by Chino XL. Williams got back what she deserved in “Why U Turn On Me?”, released on the posthumous “Until the End of Time”
-
Dan Quale
Former Vice-President Dan Quale made himself very unpopular with Tupac and his fans when he publicly destroyed copies of “2Pacalypse Now”, stating “Theres absolutely no reason for a record like this to be published” and “It has no place in our society”. This reaction came after Ronald Ray Howard shot Texas Trooper Bill Davidson. Howards attorney claimed that the 19-year-old was inspired by songs on Tupacs debut solo album. References are made in several songs of Tupacs second album, “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...”
