Havoc appeared on the latest episode of Drink Champs, where he reminisced with the crew and looked to the future. One of the older stories the legendary rapper/producer covered had to do with 2Pac's beef with Mobb Deep, where he dissed them on “Hit ‘Em Up” over a lyric he misconstrued.
“I believe it was a combo of things,” Havoc said. "On ‘Survival of the Fittest,’ we rapped, 'Thug life, we still livin’ it.' At the time, he had an article in Vibe magazine when he was like, ‘I don't want to do this thug s**t anymore.' So he probably thought we were like, ‘Thug life, we still living it, f**k what he’s doin'.' It piled up on 'L.A., L.A.' and it was like, f**k these n****as."
“L.A., L.A.” is Capone-N-Noreaga's response track to Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Dogg's “New York, New York." Tha Dogg Pound song released in 1995, near the height of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry. It also came with a music video shot in several NYC locations, including Times Square and Carroll Gardens. "L.A., L.A." also featured Mobb Deep. Their inclusion led to Pac going after them on his classic diss track.
Pac saved his vitriol for the end of the song, where he infamously mocked Prodigy's sickle cell diagnosis. The Mobb responded to him on "Drop A Gem On 'Em," but when Pac died, they stopped promoting it.
Mobb Deep New Album
Elsewhere in the interview, Havoc discussed the new Mobb Deep album, which The Alchemist previously confirmed was completed. The album, which is the first new Mobb Deep music since Prodigy's death in 2017, will arrive as part of Mass Appeal's Legend Has It series.
As part of the series, fans have already received new albums from Slick Rick, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah. The Mobb Deep album, a new De La Soul release, and the long-awaited joint album between Nas and legendary producer DJ Premier are the remaining releases in the series, all of which are due out before the end of 2025. Havoc will continue to honor the Mobb's legacy when he goes on the road with Raekwon for a tour to commemorate the 30th anniversaries of both The Infamous and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Hopefully, fans get to hear the new album before long.
