In the 1990s, Nas and 2Pac (real name Tupac Shakur) had their infamous meeting in New York, and rappers from both entourages have given their recollections of the event. However, in an interview for an episode of Untold Stories of Hip Hop with Angie Martinez, Snoop Dogg explained what he believed really happened. However, Nas (real (Nasir Jones) shared a different account with Ebro Darden on Beats1.
Following the release of his album, King’s Disease, Jones went on a promotional press run, during which he visited Beats1 New York. While speaking to host Ebro Darden, the Illmatic legend spoke on his encounter with Shakur to clarify a few misunderstandings concerning the run-in.
Correcting Snoop’s version of events, Jones explained, “I heard Snoop told the story a few times, but he had it wrong a little bit. He had said that ‘Pac stepped to me. Rest in peace ‘Pac. But he was in New York, and it was a lot of tension flaring, right? And nobody was really there.” Snoop had previously said Nas had gangsters circling Central Park, where they met.
Jones elaborated, explaining how Shakur had gotten into an argument with his close friend backstage at the 1996 VMA’s and wanted to settle the issue with 2pac. He continued, “At that point, it was necessary for us to address the situation ’cause it was in the city, and we had to step to our business. There was a lot of tension. They was in New York, and they chest was out, they was doing they thing, Death Row signs, so we had to go and step to them.”
“We had a great convo, man. He explained he thought I was dissing him on the song ‘The Message.’ He thought I was dissing him, and I heard he was dissing me at clubs. [Pac was the] last person I was even thinking about when I wrote that record. I was just going at everybody. So, he thought that.”
However, Jones did confess that in the heat of the moment, when he heard news of the altercation backstage at the VMA’s, he was ready to put 2Pac in his place but gave him a pass as there was already so much tension in the city during that period.
You can hear some of the conversation between Darden and the lyricist in the video below.