He was shot by three men in the lobby, after refusing to give up his belongings. All rights reserved. 's verse on the interlude. [11] Puffy had first used it for a brief, rap interlude on Uptown Records singer Mary J. Blige's R&B album My Life, released in late November 1994. "[46] Stretch had been killed, in a shooting officially unresolved, on November 30, 1995. [7][8][9], The "Who Shot Ya?" [22] In October, pending appeal, Tupac was released on bond, flew to Los Angeles, and joined Death Row. He collaborated with Myrick on a song called “Who Shot Ya?” It was released late February 1995, as a secondary B-side to “Big Poppa.”. ( Who Shot Ya?) Someone's out to get him, but Biggie gets the drop on his foe. "[21], Questioning the shooting and injuries,[18] Henchman would contend that Tupac had shot himself trying to draw his own gun,[59] much as Stretch had said that a robber's grabbing Tupac's hand, trying to draw the gun, had discharged it. ", almost two months after the 1994 ambush. [7] And in later years, some have asserted that it was not about Tupac at all. [35] Both share a looping sample from soul singer David Porter's song "The Masquerade is Over," by now sampled in many rap songs. It just had an effect on everybody. Among those that Tupac initially suspected was Andre Harrell, but with no reasonable connection beyond merely his presence awaiting the recording session, and not even the song "Who Shot Ya?" It was supposed to be the intro to that shit Keith Murray was doing on Mary J. Blige's joint. "[20] Tupac responded, "That's hip hop. The message was clear: What he’d been through wasn’t a performance, as he’d been accused of. were the biggest rappers in the world in 1996, when Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas following a Mike Tyson fight. and Bad Boy but also included a threat to the Mobb. In the August 1995 issue of Vibe, Biggie said he wasn’t involved in the Quad shooting and that “Who Shot Ya?” wasn’t about Tupac. It was real. I do not own this audio no copy right infringement intended "[48] Afterward, Tupac would publicly assail his onetime New York running mates and one of Haitian Jack's associates, Jimmy Henchman. This excerpt has been edited for length and clarity. Mobb Deep’s response to “Hit ‘Em Up” by Tupac, a song which mainly targeted The Notorious B.I.G. [49] Once eventually responding, each complained of Tupac's tendency to place names and accusations in the press and to allegedly create cinematic drama in his life. What won them over was the warmth in Biggie’s voice, a sound that made him both relatable and totally unique. Biggie had started dealing drugs as a 13-year-old, dropped out of school at 16, and spent a few years hustling in his hometown of Brooklyn and in Raleigh, North Carolina. [18][50][51][49] Interviewed after June 1996, but looking back even farther, Biggie remarked, "He knows when all that shit was going down, I was schooling a nigga to certain things, me and Stretch—God bless the grave. [18][59] Still, a New York City Police Department confidential informant in the Bad Boy or the Uptown label claimed the attack had been contracted by Biggie,[66] a former street hustler likely familiar with Brooklyn gunmen. Its sixth track is "K. Murray Interlude," 22 seconds long, where Keith Murray raps about six blustery lines. was written before Shakur was shot and thus, was not about him. [7][23], Tupac's fatal shooting in September 1996 and Biggie's in March 1997 remain officially unresolved over 20 years later,[24] but triggered speculations partly blaming this "rap battle. Tupac told Powell that Biggie and Puffy might have had something to do with it. LL got a song 'I Shot Ya.' "—sounding, in the context, like taunting and menacing of Tupac. "[7][8] Alike raps fans,[14][15] Tupac interpreted "Who Shot Ya? Uptown/MCA said it was too hard. famous were the ones he didn’t even want to record. [gunshots] Who shot you? "[38], The November 1994 attack on Tupac near Quad studios was a turning point in American pop music. Biggie still thought of himself as a street hustler, and he wrote verses for the beat that reflected where he’d come from and what he’d been through. The original version contains three verses from LL and with the chorus provided by Murray, while the remix version was given new verses written and recorded at separate time… [11] The shared basis is a looping sample,[11] a portion of David Porter's song "The Masquerade is Over"[12] on his 1971 album Victim of the Joke. However, the beat was given to LL Cool J at the insistence of Chris Lighty, who was the manager of Fat Joeat the time. [22][68] Once himself on stage, Puffy endorsed East–West unity, but rap's bicoastal rivalry soon dominated rap news. was about Tupac. [19][58][64][65] Arguing that Tupac's vendetta was theatrics to sell records,[19] Henchman recalled ordering Tupac to stop blaming Biggie and Puffy, who "ain't got nothing to do with this. [42] Yet by late 1993, while Biggie's debut album would take 18 months to finish recording, Tupac was on his second album, his first two big pop hits—#11 in July and #12 in October—and had already starred in 1992 and 1993 films. [44] In Biggie's account, the Powell interview had suggested Tupac "was just confused more than anything. Bitch-ass nigga, what? This dude is not coming clean with us about anything. He also told Vibe that the next time he saw Tupac, he wanted an apology. "[14] Still, researching for the 2009 biopic Notorious, Dukes and coworkers found, in "a freestyle rap," "a few bars," "a bit of hard-core evidence" that Dukes merely refers listeners to judge. Shakur was struck by four .40 caliber rounds fired from a Glock: two in … "Who Shot Ya?," or often, without the question mark, "Who Shot Ya,"[1] is a song by gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G., commonly called Biggie Smalls, backed and produced by Puff Daddy. instrumental section, itself now historic in rap,[10] was produced by Puffy and one of his staff record producers. "[49] Amid persistent rumors of his guilt,[51][53] Henchman would tenaciously assert innocence. Tupac Shakur (aka 2Pac), a highly successful American hip hop artist, was fatally shot on September 7, 1996, in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.He was 25 years old. When the song dropped, Tupac was incarcerated in Rikers Island jail after having been found guilty of sexual abuse. [18] (Biggie and Puffy then resumed public silence until the June 1996 release of Tupac's answer "Hit 'Em Up" occasioned their interview for Vibe's September 1996 issue. 'Who Shot Ya?' That song, it was so crazy. [29] Meanwhile, the term Who Shot Ya? [13] David Porter's fourth album, Victim of the Joke, a "rock/soul opera" released by Stax Records in 1971, is a cult classic, known for its cover version of jazz singer Sara Vaughn's "The Masquerade is Over,"[13] sometimes called "I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over. But this back-and-forth wasn’t just about Biggie, Puffy, and Tupac. [34] On the pop singles chart, the Billboard Hot 100, amid 24 weeks total, it peaked at #6 on March 18. "[50] But once beset by people citing "Who Shot Ya?" [11] The three, including Puffy as overseer, were members of his house team of record producers, "the Hitmen," at Puffy's record label, Bad Boy Entertainment. Biggie Smalls & 2Pac: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com What’s the issue? "In the past 14 years, ... [Tupac was shot], I remember Big calling me and crying. When he rapped about that life, he was speaking from experience. Subscribe to Slow Burn Season 3: Tupac and Biggie now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2011, prisoner Dexter Isaac confessed, directly to the media, as one of the Quad attack's gunmen and alleged that "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond had hired him for the job [Matthew Perpetua, "Biggie's 'Who Shot Ya' was made for Mary J. Blige, according to Funkmaster Flex", "Biggie himself clears up 'Who Shot Ya' misunderstanding in this long-lost freestyle", "The B-side that deepened Biggie and Tupac's rift", "Rapper Tupac Shakur robbed, shot in N.Y.", "Game manager Jimmy Rosemond recalls events the night Tupac was shot, says session was 'all business' ", "How Biggie and Tupac went from friends to music's biggest rivals", "First look: Ice-T talks about conflict In hip-hop", "Watch Living Colour protest gun violence via Biggie cover in new video", "Who shot ya? You get shot and then you go to jail for something you ain't even do—that could twist a nigga's mind up. It's no issue. He released “Hit ‘Em Up” as a diss track against Wallace and others in response, opening with a taunt that he had had sex his Wallace’s wife, Faith Evans — and things got more adversarial from there. What’s the motive? Vibe reached out to Puffy and Biggie for comment, but they declined to respond. [5] Biggie's most infamous classic,[6] it was also controversial. [15] Yet then "Who Shot Ya? By clicking “Create Account”, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Service. "—with menacing lyrics delivered deftly—… [22][69], In September, after a Bad Boy–Death Row conflict at a party in Atlanta, a Death Row bodyguard was fatally shot. * October 31, 1993 - Tupac allegedly stopped to help a black motorist who he felt was being harassed by the policemen. [11], In early 1993, visiting Los Angeles, Biggie met Tupac, and soon joined Tupac and Randy "Stretch" Walker as running, rapping, and recording mates. It became increasingly hard to focus on music, though. What was their motive? "[6] In any case, My Life was released on November 29, 1994. Closing the week of February 25, 1995, Biggie's single "Big Poppa/Warning"[33]—released on December 5, 1994[2]—had spent six weeks total, and five weeks at #1, on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart. "[37] Yet it is Biggie's lyricism, there, that would motivate MTV to eventually recognize "Who Shot Ya" for, MTV says, "using the art of music to make the art of war sound beautiful. Chris Williams, interviewer, with Carl "Chuck" Thompson & Prince Charles Alexander, interviewees. vs. Tupac (Hit Em Up) Th&Ce’ … "[4], Reportedly, "Who Shot Ya?" [11], Thompson recalls entering the studio while Myrick, seeking a portion to sample, was playing one of the records, eventually took a sample, and looped it for hours. So, nah. [18][21] Alike the other interviewees, namely, Andre Harrell, Jimmy Henchman, Little Shawn, and Stretch, both Biggie and Puffy denied any role in the Quad attack and disputed Tupac's recollection of their behaviors. Carlos D. Morrison & Celnisha L. Dangerfield, "Tupac Shakur" & "East Coast versus West Coast", in Mickey Hess, editor, For example, it has been employed to represent the entire riddle of who fatally shot Tupac and Biggie. [7] On why he also had not retaliated physically despite his penchant for menacing rap lyrics, Biggie said, "The whole reason I was being cool from day one was because of that nigga Puff—'cause Puff don't get down like that. [14] Still, during 1995, the ensuing enmity incurred menace and murder via gun play in real life,[40] starting a trend in rap culture, stamping pop culture. [7][14][15] In early February, Tupac had received a prison sentence,[16] and in late November 1994 had been shot in a robbery by gunmen awaiting his arrival at a New York recording studio to record a verse for an Uptown Records rapper. It was released by Puffy's emerging record label, Bad Boy Records, on February 21, 1995, on the B side of an alternate reissue of Biggie's single "Big Poppa/Warning," out since December 5, 1994. Little Shawn is known for the July 1995 single, featuring Biggie, "Dom Pérignon" (Uptown, 1995). "[20] "It just came out too quick. Tupac thought that maybe “Who Shot Ya?” was Biggie’s response. In the latter half of 1994, Bad Boy established itself upon rapper Craig Mack's hit single "Flava in Ya Ear," yet especially upon Bad Boy's first album, Ready to Die, the debut album of gangsta rapper the Notorious B.I.G., or Biggie Smalls. "[20] In February 1996, Biggie's rap clique the Junior M.A.F.I.A. "[20][23], Powell noted, "You mention their names in there. Shakur was also angry at Biggie's release of "Who Shot Ya?" "[50], Upon Tupac's September 1996 death, Biggie assessed, "We two individual people, we waged a coastal beef," or "one man against one man made a whole West Coast hate a whole East Coast—and vice versa. [20][23] Yet Biggie never publicly acknowledged that it alludes to him. Let’s just do this music, man, and stay focused.’ ”. [7][14] Especially once Vibe's April 1995 issue featured Powell's January interview of Tupac, massive rumoring ensued. [17][18][19], Published in its April 1995 issue, Vibe magazine's January interview with Tupac publicized his suspicions that individuals at the record studio, including Biggie and Puffy, had aided the November 1994 attack. “You’re just as good as your competition around you. Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and Puff Daddy at the Palladium in New York on July 23, 1993. )[21] And meanwhile, Tupac's main music ally since 1991,[52] Stretch sought a "reality check" for Tupac, allegedly guilty of breaking a street "rule that's never to be broken. If we kept his original verse, Puff would have been forced to place an Explicit Lyrics sticker on the album, and he didn't want to do that to Mary, so they brought Keith Murray in to replace Biggie. "[63] For the November 1993 felony case and the November 1994 robbery, Tupac would blame Haitian Jack and Jimmy Henchman. How emergency departments can collect reliable police shooting data", "The Notorious B.I.G.—Who Shot Ya? [11][14][15] Some of these assertions, more literally, reassert innocence in the November 1994 attack. What's the motive? Kevin Powell, "Tupac Shakur", in Vibe Street Lit. was reissued in 1999 on its rapper's posthumous album Born Again,[5] in 2001 on a "Big Poppa/Warning" single reissue with remixes,[2][28] in 2004 on the remastered edition of his 1994 or debut album Ready to Die,[1] and in 2007 on his compilation album Greatest Hits. "[11] Thompson recalls, "This sample ended up being used for the Notorious B.I.G. It just had an effect on everybody. The world stopped when he dropped 'Who Shot Ya?' [18] Nearly all of them, including Puffy and Biggie, also criticized Tupac for allegedly acting out as a movie star. [3] In June, the 2Pac hit pop single "How Do U Want It" arrived with the B side "Hit 'Em Up," featuring rap clique the Outlawz and interpolating elements of "Get Money." could clear matters up, but we all know that's not possible. 2) What about niggas on the West Coast? "[20] As to the bicoastal feud, Powell asked, "Don't you think that's gonna make it worse? He accused Puff Daddy, Jimmy Henchman, and Biggie for setting up the attack. Born in Haiti, Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant had been a stickup kid in New York City, and, reputedly fearless, specialized in robbing drug dealers [Derrick Parker with Matt Diehl, Vladislav Lyubovny, interviewer, the former Mutah ". "[38] Once shuffling sounds interrupt the next line, Puffy asks "Chuck" for something "smooth. According to Jay Z, Biggie and his release of “Who Shot Ya?” stopped time. [5][6][10] Its republished lyrics may omit Puffy's vocals,[8] which precede Biggie's and recur. [17][57] Stretch was uninjured, but one man with them was shot. "[4] Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z recalls receiving a copy of the song, by surprise, on a tape from a friend before the single's release. Tupac thought B.I.G.’s song “Who Shot Ya?” from his album Ready to Die was about him. [15] This drew more attention than the A side's other track, "Warning," another album track. "[12], Thompson recalls that amid Myrick playing the looping sample, Puffy, who had entered the studio with Biggie, "got the idea to use it as an interlude for Mary's My Life album. [55] In the lobby, Tupac was shot resisting successful robbery of roughly $40000 of jewelry. Tupac thought that maybe “Who Shot Ya?” was Biggie’s response. And “Who Shot Ya?” clouded the picture. became a trope outside of music.[30]. [39] It premised a "rap battle" between Biggie and Tupac, starting with "Who Shot Ya? 's song 'Who Shot Ya.' Puffy said that Tupac “got a lot of people in a lot of bullshit with that interview.”. [43][17] Biggie would recall presence at Tupac's first Rolex purchase and favoring company beyond Biggie's own, then means. [13] In late February 1995, the "Who Shot Ya?" The world stopped when he dropped “Who Shot Ya?” he told MTV. The song in its original form had a verse from Big, Keith Murray, and LL Cool J, though LL never did his verse. [59] But the artist entered and blamed them for the Quad shooting, why Suge refused, Henchman alleged. They seized on what Tupac said about the ambush at Quad Studios. “Big didn’t even like ‘Big Poppa.’ Or ‘Juicy,’ ” producer Nasheim Myrick, who worked closely with B.I.G., said. The story was incendiary. That’s how beefs tend to escalate: with a series of ambiguous provocations. Pac's name is never mentioned on the song. While the A side's "Big Poppa" was already a big pop hit, the reissue's closing track, "Who Shot Ya? And to hear the interviews we just couldn’t fit into the main episodes, join Slate Plus. 1 on the Billboard charts. "[11] Thompson explains, "The reason why Keith Murray was brought in was due to B.I.G. So what I’mma do is just stay away from it.’ … And Puff is like, ‘Yo, you know what? 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