Nas is an icon and legend in hip-hop. As a lyricist, he is unparalleled, and during the 1990s, he was one of the best. However, although he was largely uninvolved in the East Coast versus West Coast feud of that decade, on one occasion, his younger brother almost got into a fight with 2Pac.
In an interview on Apple Music 1’s Rap Life Radio, the Queensbridge native (real name Nasir Jones) detailed what led up to the minor altercation and how it could have turned ugly if not for intervention.
Speaking with Ebro Darden, Jones explained he was presenting an award at the MTV Music Awards when his brother Jungle was in an argument with 2Pac and his Death Row counterparts.
Setting the scene, he explained, “I’m in the seats at the spot. And somebody came and said, ‘Yeah, your brother and them is getting it on in the lobby or whatever,’ or something like that. So I got up, and I went out there, but it was already squashed at that point.”
He detailed, Accompanied by his brother, Jungle told the rest of the story, recalling, “I went to get a drink, and I saw this girl that looked lost. So I’m like, ‘Where are you going?’ She’s like, ‘I’m looking for my friends.’ I said, ‘Who?’ ‘Death Row.’ I was like, ‘What? When I see one of them, I’m going to take a chain.’ And then she was laughing. I was trying to make her laugh to come get a drink with me. But I was on some Queensbridge Mobb Deep shit. It’s like, yeah, Mobb Deep in the house. I’m going to take a chain.”
Shortly after his exchange with the young lady, 2Pac and a squad of Death Row forces entered the building heading in their direction. Recounting his actions, Jungle added, “I yelled it out, ‘Yo, Mobb Deep in the house. I will take a Death Row chain.’ They came right back with Pac, and he’s looking like, ‘Who said that?’… And I was like, ‘Oh god.’ And I was with his guy, Moose, and Moose was like, ‘Man, yo, I got you. I see everybody and they don’t even know I’m with you.’ And he’s like this karate expert from Queensbridge, so I said it again, ‘Mobb Deep, what’s up Pac? What’s up? I’ll take your chain right now.’ And then they surrounded me again.”
Jungle unveiled that Pac’s crew “had razors in their hands” and began to get aggressive. At the time, Death Row and Mobb Deep were feuding, but out of loyalty to his borough, he ignorantly assumed he could side with Mobb Deep in front of 2Pac and his crew.
Although the razors and weapons were visible, the altercation never amounted to a physical attack. However, for the first time, Jungle felt the danger of the feud directly. You can hear the story in the video below.
