The ‘awkward’ moment Ghostface Killah met Biggie Smalls: “My intention was just to clear the air”
Wu-Tang Clan and Biggie Smalls had issues in the ’90s, with fans believing both parties took subliminal shots at each other. At the time, they were both fighting for supremacy in New York City. Looking back now, Ghostface Killah claims it wasn’t anything serious.
On the 20th anniversary of Biggie’s death in 2017, Ghostface reflected on their issues, claiming he was just a young man at the time who was willing to do whatever to defend himself. “You know we had our little words, our little tension back in the days, but it wasn’t really nothing,” he told XXL. “I was 25 when I was popping that shit. You know, you’re young and just ready to do whatever, especially where I come from.”
Ghostface and Biggie only met once, on the West Coast, when Brandy was performing in Downtown Los Angeles. The Supreme Clientele rapper spotted him from a distance and approached him to break the ice between them.
“I bumped into him,” he said. “I believe it was at LA Live and I think Brandy might’ve had a show that night and we came in there late. The whole clan was late—me, [Raekwon], [Cappadonna], U-God and some other members—and I seen Big and his man standing against the bar.”
He continued, “I just slid to him because I had thought about doing so a while ago. My intention was just to clear the air and make some music, you know what I mean? That was my intention, so when I seen him, I went over and said peace to him and gave him a pound.”
Ghostface joked that Biggie, who was reportedly six-foot-two, was bigger than he thought in person. “Up close he was taller than what I thought,” he said. “It was awkward ’cause we never spoke, but to be right there at that moment was crazy. He just stood above me. We both said peace to each other and things got quiet.”
However, their relationship didn’t expand from there, with Biggie passing away just days later after being killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Ghostface admitted that his death possibly impacted him more than 2Pac’s due to them both being from the same city.
“That shit broke my heart, it really broke my heart,” he explained. “I think I might’ve felt his death more than 2Pac’s death. Maybe because he was so much closer to us, being from New York and all that. I don’t know what it was, but it was something about his passing that affected me. He was great.”
Ghostface revealed he was uninspired by modern music and wished Biggie was still around to push hip-hop even further. “I wish he was still here because I don’t have no more inspiration,” he said. “I’m not inspired by today’s music, you know what I mean? I fuck with it just because, but I’m not inspired by it.”
He stated that both Biggie and Nas encouraged him to up his pen game and saluted Christopher Wallace for being considered one of the greatest rappers despite only releasing two albums, 1994’s Ready to Die and 1997’s Life After Death.