Jay-Z teamed up with Rick Rubin and others to bring fans JAŸ-Z In 8, an eight-part docuseries going over some of his most iconic songs, his career highlights, and his perspective as an artist. The first two episodes are out on HBO Max, and what folks have seen so far contained interesting reflections on a key piece of hip-hop history. Rubin asked Hov for his perspective on the East Coast and West Coast beef, spearheaded by tensions between the legendary artists Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
As caught by @TheRocSupremacy on Twitter, the Roc Nation mogul said the two legends had a disagreement that "entire coasts" jumped in and made "super dangerous." "They were really close friends," Jay posited, elaborating on his understanding of this situation that predates Jay's fame.
"Biggie and Tupac used to hang out," he said. "Tupac is getting really popular now... A certain element is coming around him. Big tells Tupac, 'Yo, watch those guys. I know those guys. They not good guys.' Tupac goes and tells the guys. So now, the guys are mad at Biggie... He had problems with these guys who were really serious guys in the city because he had told Tupac, 'Stop hanging with them. Because something's going to happen.' And as we fast-forward [to Tupac getting shot in New York City], those were the guys, something happened."
Jay-Z On Biggie & Tupac
Jay-Z claimed 'Pac knew Big had warned him, and knew they were responsible. But Jay claimed the Death Row artist blamed Smalls anyway, and Biggie chose not to retaliate or engage in the beef (save for "Who Shot Ya?").
Hov claimed 'Pac felt like Big allowed for the attack to happen "in his city," which Hov dismissed as a grievance due to Smalls not controlling the streets. "From there, it just went," he continued. "It took on a life of its own. Magazines started picking it up. It became this thing where everybody was involved. People that had nothing to do with it became involved."
According to Billboard, Jay praised Tupac's artistry and said he asked Big to remove a line from "Brooklyn's Finest" that could've added more fuel to the East Coast and West Coast fire. This conflict experienced various historical reevaluations over time, and continues to do so. Many fans see it more as Diddy versus Suge Knight than anything else. It's still a tragic part of hip-hop history whose effects continue to reverberate.
Elsewhere, Jay-Z reflected on his artistic come-up during this docuseries. He admitted he didn't like the process of being an artist, but many fans are glad he changed his mind.
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