Before both GOAT's died--they had a lot of enemies in the industry. BIG had "so called beef with you know who" and also minor squabbles to major beefs with a lot of NY rappers, while trying to defend the "King of NY" title--including Wu Tang, BIG L, De La Soul and The Roots.

Pac was taking on nearly EVERYBODY mid 90's. Pac was pretty sensitive when it came to rappers copying him in anything--whether it be wearing a bandana, saying the word "thug" on records or even something as simple as saying "Westside" really irritated Pac. Bone Thugs N Harmony had to win Pac over after he got mad at them having thug in their name lol

PAC VS CUBE

Coming up in the industry--Pac's greatest rap inspiration was Ice Cube and NWA. Pac loved Cube and wanted to make the music Cube was making. They met in the early 90s when Pac was touring with Digital Underground and Pac told Cube he wanted to "make the music you are making. I got some real s*** to say, just like you". Cube said he "didn't want to keep making the dance music" on DU. Cube enjoyed having a young Pac around and even featured on Pac's sophomore album on the track "Last Words"--which also features Ice T and is a supremely underrated track. Some say the beef may have started when Cube turned down an acting role on the movie Poetic Justice, because he felt the male character was a bit too feminine. Pac ended up taking the role and Cube said in an interview that he "wasn't a sucker" and the role "fit him(Pac)" better take that as you wish lol

Fast forward to around 1994 and Pac is getting a lot more buzz now, while Cube is fading into the background a bit after the explosive arrivals of BIG and Snoop. Pac went to jail in 94' and while he was in jail he observed the game from afar and heard of this brewing East vs West war. When he was released in 95', he released Hit Em Up--blasting Biggie and a lot of East Coast rappers.

Pac started having problems with Cube around this time. First--he thought Cube was copying his style by wearing a bandana. In this case Pac was wrong, Cube wore a bandana before him and even wore one on his "The Predator" album cover--before Pac blew up. Next--he thought Cube copied him in saying "Westside" and throwing up the "W" with his hands, like in the iconic All Eyes On Me album cover. Pac was once again wrong about the Westside accusation, as Cube had said Westside on a few songs, including the hit single "How We Do It" off the Predator album in 1993. Pac may have had a point with the hand sign, though. Cube's "W" sign was also different from Pac's. Cube's included the thumb sticking out and just looked weirder than Pac's.

On Cube's side, he always saw Pac as the young Pac he met at the beginning. He always saw Pac as beneath him. Never at the same level. Around the time Pac dropped Hit Em Up and was going on a rampage against the East--Cube started doing the same, but in a less direct manner. Cube started beef with Common over a misunderstanding about the Common song "I Used To Love Her", in which the east coast MC laments what happened to hip hop when it got to the West. Cube also dropped a song and video, alongside his crew at the time "Westside Connection"--titled Bow Down. It was a diss record to the East Coast in which he labeled himself the "Don of the West". Pac was calling himself the Don at this time and did not like that. But more importantly--in the video for the song there is a guy that looks just like a young Pac, bowing down and kissing Cube's ring. This was a clear shot. Its the first thing you see in the video, too lol

On another WC track called "Let It Reign" Cube starts off by saying "ain't no California Love, just California slugs". Pac felt Cube was riding his wave with all the anti East Coast stuff, at a time when Cube was falling behind and considered more of an out of his prime rapper turned actor. Obviously, Pac died before this beef could really pop off. But it was brewing. Now a days Cube gives Pac his flowers but still has certain grudges against him--for example, Cube always scoffs when Hit Em Up is ranked ahead of No Vaseline in diss record lists. So there definitely still is some type of feelings there. How do you think it would've turned out? Idols turned to rivals fr.

NAS VS BIG

This one was much more well known and direct. BIG and Nas were friends in the early 90s and were supposed to make several records together, including a "Gimme The Loot" remix in which Nas got too high in the studio and "had nothing" to rap about lol Long story short, BIG took over hip hop in 1994 when he dropped Ready To Die. The same year a young Nas dropped Illmatic. Both are huge records in rap history, but at the time Illmatic didn't sell that well--while RTD went platinum in a few months. Not only that--but BIG swept all the awards at the 95' Source awards in MSG. With Nas in the audience, he won "best album", "best lyricist(which Nas was favorite to win)", "best performance" and "best new artist". That night caused a massive shift in hip hop, specifically the East Coast. Nas and his crew were devastated. They couldn't believe it. From that point forward--Nas decided to start incorporating Mafioso style raps in his music. Tbf to him--it wasn't just him. A lot of NY rappers started copying BIG after seeing his success joining mafioso rap with a more mainstream sound.

Nas really felt a way when The Source magazine cover had BIG on it with the caption "King of NY". This was the title both rappers were battling over for the next few years. On his sophomore album, Nas decided to mention this on the track "The Message". Saying "there's one life, one love--so there can only be one king". He also says "best friends become strangers". From that point on it was somewhat friendly competition. To the point where Nas started a group called the Firm and found Foxy Brown--just to compete with BIG's Junior Mafia group, which included Lil Kim. It was a war and each guy had their armies. Pac had recently died and BIG had been rehabbing from a car accident so Nas and other NY rappers saw this as an opportunity to take the top spot. While BIG called himself "Frank White", after a fictional movie kingpin--Nas decided to start calling himself Escobar, after Colombian d***lord Pablo Escobar. Basically saying "I'm a real king, not a fake one".

But that all ended when BIG dropped his sophomore album Life After Death. Basically an album full of disses--Wu Tang Clan, The Roots, De La Soul, Pac and more are subliminally aimed at. On "Kick In The Door" he aims at all of them, including Nas. Referencing the time between Pac's death and LAD dropping, Biggie starts off the track saying "your reign at the top was short like leprechauns as I crush so called willies, thugs are rapper dons". Willies references Nas "big willie style" line on Rule The World. "Thugs" is Pac while rapper dons can be Raekwon, Ghostface and Nas as well(Wu Tang said RTD cover was a copy of the Illmatic cover). They kept trying to one up each other until BIG's death. BIG also disses Nas on Hypnotize and several other tracks. The last verses BIG ever recorded were for the song Victory, on Puff's "No Way Out" album. On the song, BIG proclaims just that--Victory over his enemies. Whether is Pac, Nas, Wu etc... but he goes most directly at Nas. Mentioning Nas' at the time 2 year old daughter Destiny, by name with the clever line "your fam's Destiny, lays in my hand". He ends his rap career and one of his best and last verses with the chilling lines "see me, only me..the underboss of this holocaust, truly yours--Frank White".

After being killed 3 days after recording those verses, the beef died down and Nas actually praised BIG in 2002 on the song "Last Real N*gga Alive", where he details how the beef started("who you think Kick In The Door was for?") and even sort of defended BIG's honor on Ether against Jay. I find it very funny how Jay basically stole BIG's entire style, even down to only doing subliminal disses for the most part. If BIG had stayed alive--it might've been a Jay and BIG vs Nas beef imo, with The Commission joint album on the horizon. How do you think this beef would've played out?

There was more but didn't want to make it too long, know reading is frowned upon around here sometimes

Naw it’s crazy to think that’s how the Pac beef started. Any other explanations?

$20 in cashapp to whoever read all ts

The movie thing may have been the true beginning but honestly--seemed like they would've clashed either way. Cube saw himself as the West Coast GOAT and Pac was suddenly challenging and surpassing him in that sense. Cube seems to be overly competitive, even to this day. Mf said he was "Kendrick before Kendrick" on his album a few months ago--he still has that ego lol

Chat GPT/AI generation is cooked

It's true.

Pac even told Biggie to make music for the ladies if he wants to succeed.

Also, Pac felt Biggie took the concept of Ready To Die from him when they were exchanging ideas. And MATW got delayed as a result.

So, things were getting rocky even before "Who Shot Ya" and the Quad shooting.

slapped and didnt read

It's crazy how close they were. Pac and BIG together would've been incredible.

Good read. I always find the potential Cuve vs Pac beef interesting. I think cube would’ve won that beef if it stayed on wax

Damn thats interesting. Think early 90's Cube would've waxxed him. Mid to late 90's Pac had so much momentum it would've been tough. But I would've LOVED to have seen it. 2 of the best ever

Pac was given a demo of RTD by BIG himself a handful of months prior to release. Pac fell in love with the song "Juicy" and played it for everybody. He was invited to the Ready To Die release party and was so excited about it he bought tickets for his entire family to attend. He even convinced BIG to stick with Puff as his manager--at a time when BIG wanted Pac to be his manager because he felt things were moving too slowly with Puff pre Bad Boy records

It was when he heard the full album and realized there were no shoutouts and no mentions of Pac, even in the album booklet. Pac was expecting AT LEAST one shoutout, seeing as he helped Biggie tremendously early on and gave him that advice you said before RTD dropped. A lot of outside influence started getting to Pac as well and then the Quad shooting happened and it was a wrap.

Also--when alleged Pac rape happened, Biggie was there but left immediately when the woman arrived. Which, combined with the Quad shooting, made Pac start to question BIG. Since every time something bad happened to him, BIG would escape unscathed every time. Then he heard Who Shot Ya in jail and the rest is history lol

Don't know if you meant BIG and Pac but post above this one details the start of that one

Raekwon vs BIG another one but they peaced up in an LA bar right before LAD came out.

Another cool what if is what if Cube signed to Death Row in 1993. They would've gotten NWA back together again and replaced Eazy with Snoop. Cube, Dre, Snoop and Pac on the same label?

OG version of Running From The Police by Thug Life featuring Biggie, recorded in 1993. Pac OG verse produced by the great Easy Mo Bee.

deserves its own thread but KTT2 don't got love for no history

Biggie was so jealous that Mo Bee gave Pac some of his best beats in 1993--beats like "If I Die 2nite" and "Temptations" were heard by BIG before they came out and he was salty because he knew those would be hits. He hit up Mo Bee and Pac and convinced them to include him on the track "Running From The Police", even though he wasn't a member of the Thug Life group. They named him an honorary member and thats how that song came about

You expect me to read all that? Cuz I did. Good work

Real

BIG referencing Raekwon and Ghostface on "What's Beef", saying they changed their entire style after RTD blew up and now copy him

"Sometimes I get kind of peeved at these weak MC's
with these supreme baller like lyrics, I call 'em like I see 'em, G
Y'all n*ggas sound like me
Y'all was grimy in the early 90's....far behind me
It ain't hard to find me"

I love rap history man

Where where wheeere
(Running from tha police)

It’s bittersweet Ghost was able to meet Big in person and squash their issues right before the fatal shooting happened

Had no idea about a lot of this. Seems like BIG got industry heavy and Pac resented that

Let me ask you a question, in reference to some of his other lyrics in "What's Beef?" When he says this......

"Make my name taste like ass when you speak it,
see me in the streets, your jewelry, you can keep it,
that be our little secret...."

Who do you think he was talking about there?

I've always thought that was a subtle diss towards 2Pac, referring to him getting some of his jewelry stolen from the 1994 Quad studios robbery/shooting.

BIG seems like he was compromised by Puff and those around him. The grimey raps he gets on Wu about is funny when that’s the bag he wanted to be on and blow up with before Puff showed him the way