tupac
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While Tupac was known for making music in which he rapped about bedding multiple women and getting his player on, the man was actually in a committed relationship with the daughter of music legend Quincy Jones, Kidada.
While not much detail is known about their relationship, as the two dated way before social media was a thing, Kidada’s sister, Rashida Jones, opened up about a heated exchange which took place between herself and Tupac before he went on to date her older sister. According to Huffpost, the animosity between herself and Pac began when the iconic rapper was interviewed in an 1993 issue of The Source magazine and criticized her father, Qunicy Jones, for having children with white women and “make[ing] fucked up kids.”
A then 17-year-old Rashida Jones wrote a response to Tupac in a follow-up issue and apparently it resonated with the rapper in such a way he felt the need to apologize to the Jones family.
In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Jones recalls how Shakur approached her sister, Kidada, in New York City thinking it was her and asked for forgiveness for his harsh words about her father and his children.
From the New Yorker:
“And then my sister was out somewhere in New York, and Tupac came up to apologize to her, because he thought it was me,” Rashida Jones said. “It resolved itself really nicely, because when I met him, he immediately apologized to me, immediately apologized to my dad. We sat down and had a really good conversation about it, and then he was family.”
Tupac and Kidada went on to date and even live together for a while before the rapper was murdered in 1996. In Q: The Autobiography Of Qunicy Jones, Kidada recalled the moment that Tupac approached her about the situation and admitted she knew it was much more than an apology at the moment.
“I met Tupac at a club after that and he said, ‘I want to apologize to you. I didn’t mean that about your dad or you. I didn’t see you as real human beings. Now that I see you…,’” she said. “He was all game. He was trying to get a play, let’s face it, but I liked him.”
Yeah, that sounds about right. Ladies might’ve loved Cool James in the early 90s, but they loved them some Tupac as well.
Helluva era.
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Tupac murder suspect Keefe D will have to ride things out in jail as he awaits trial. A judge has denied his bail over him potentially selling his life story.
As reported by Huffington Post the Compton, Los Angeles native did not receive favorable news regarding his freedom. On Wednesday, June 26 Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny ruled against the request citing concerns he would profit from his freedom. Last week his legal team asked for their client to be released after they secured the $750,000 bond. In recent weeks controversial music executive Cash “Wack 100” Jones has teased the idea of bonding Keefe D in exchange for the rights to his story. The business proposition seemed to have some legs to it as Wack discussed the business deal with Duane Davis Jr., Keefe D’s son, on Clubhouse. This seems to have concerned Judge Keirny as she expressed her concerns that Wack 100 is serving “‘front’ or ‘middleman’ for the true bond poster.”
Keefe D’s attorney expressed his dismay in a statement to Newsweek. “We are disappointed with the court’s decision to deny bail to Mr. Davis, especially considering the thorough vetting by Konvict Bail Bonds of the funding source conducted before the source hearing,” Carl Arnold said. “We firmly believe there is a lack of substantive proof that Mr. Davis intended to profit from his alleged connections to the case.”
Keefe D’s trial is expected to commence in November. He could face life imprisonment if found guilty for his role in Tupac’s murder.
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There is a thin line between competition and conflict and in the ever-evolving landscape of Rap and Hip-Hop, all it takes is a few words or actions to tilt the scale towards beef.
At their best, the beefs gave us quotables and songs that have become a part of our cultural catalogue from KRS-One’s iconic lines on “The Bridge is Over” or Jay-Z’s jab at Nas’ iconic song “The World is Mine” on “Takeover.” At their worst, the beefs led to violent interactions that served as warnings for the future (rest in powerful peace Tupac Shakur, Christopher Wallace and too many more).
Whether you rooted for the underdog or cheered for the villain, here is a list of nine Hip-Hop beefs that altered the way we listened to the culture’s music to this day.
9. Kool Moe Dee and LL Cool J
Considered by many as one of the first instances of rap beef, the two’s feud not only produced some of the biggest rap moments (Kool Moe Dee’s rap Grammy performance and LL’s Jack the Ripper series), but also set a precedent of using rap disses to enlarge both stars’ brand. For LL, he’d become one of rap’s earliest commercial successes, leading the line of success and respect into the 90s and beyond. His rise also foreshadowed a theme with the pioneer’s anger with younger MC’s who felt slighted by the next generation’s hubris.
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8. Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown
Kim’s ascent into rap in 1996 alongside the Notorious B.I.G. and Junior Mafia brought a new aesthetic for female rappers as she embraced a more sexual and aggressive energy. Unfortunately, competition between her and fellow Brooklyn rapper Foxy Brown became inevitable as the two traded words over the years on various songs including Kim’s verse on Lil Cease’s 1999 song, “Play Around,” “The Notorious Kim”, and Mobb Deep’s “Quiet Storm Remix”. Foxy’s venomous verse on “Bang Bang” proved prophetic, and the violence and residual tension that followed over the years make it one of rap’s most memorable beefs.
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7. Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy
For these two southern MC’s who have since gone on to rectify their differences, their dispute over Gucci’s first commercial record, “So Icy,” ushered in a flurry of diss records back and forth that escalated to alleged violence off the records. Unfortunately, their antics and the energy behind it ushered in a new dimension of dissing enemies, encapsulated by Gucci’s gesture of smoking on the remains of an enemy, a move he’s since condemned.
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6. LL Cool J and Canibus
For Canibus, the rising phenom in rap at the time, being featured on a song with someone as accomplished as LL Cool J was an honor. His initial verse on the posse cut, “4,3,2,1,” however innocent, prompted LL’s furious response, and the records that followed only made LL’s battle rap status grow larger. Canibus’ “Second Round KO” and L’s “The Ripper Strikes Back” also introduced whether fans preferred battle records from overtly lyrical rappers or more commercially renowned artists.
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5. 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.
Largely remembered for the shocking claims made by 2Pac against Biggie on the song “Hit Em Up”, the primarily one-sided beef spurred a slew of responses from Biggie and others, both directly and subliminally which fueled the environment that led to their untimely deaths. The behind-the-scenes antics between Bad Boy Records and Death Row only exacerbated the tension and forced former friends to cross all types of lines that rap had yet to see before then.
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4. Jay-Z and Nas
After years of tension and perceived disrespect, Jay-Z and Nas’ early 2000s beef produced two of rap’s biggest diss records, “Takeover” and “Ether,” and simultaneously added to both stars’ classic repertoire of albums and songs. Despite the propensity for violence that existed, both men’s decisions to end their issue and work together represented a rare display of maturity, unlike anything we’d seen at that time for stars of their magnitude.
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3. Ja Rule and 50 Cent
Arguably one of the most influential rap beefs of the early 2000s, 50 Cent’s and Ja’s behind-the-scenes issues spilt onto the national stage when 50 attacked Ja multiple times on his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. 50’s unrelenting vendetta against Ja and Murder Inc. successfully made him a legend in many eyes and all but erased the stellar run of one of rap’s most influential and successful rap labels. Despite both artists moving on to different endeavours, the beef between them remains one of rap’s most noticeable land mines, going off at least once a year on social media without fail.
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2. Ice Cube and N.W.A
In the eyes of many rap fans including Cube himself, his 1991 diss response “No Vaseline” is arguably the most known and well-crafted. Before rap fans became accustomed to the idea of a 20 v 1 type battle, Cube took it upon himself to diss his former group N.W.A singlehandedly, so much so that they decided not to respond. At the top of his game both critically and commercially, his diss carried the same weight as Jay-Z and Nas with a level of sophistication and execution that has yet to be reached by a diss record since.
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1. Kendrick Lamar and Drake
Much like how Jay-Z and Nas’ beef festered over the years before exploding onto the scene, Kendrick and Drake’s feud following his verse on Big Sean’s “Control” grew, culminating in years of subliminal jabs. Kendrick’s feature on the Future and Metro Boomin’ single, “Like That” forced both sides into the competition and from there, we got more rap disses in a week than we’d ever seen from two competitors. The speed of their releases, rollout strategies and cleverness upped the ante for rap feuds that typically played out over time and showed us the lyrical brilliance of both camps regardless of who you felt was the victor.
Culturally, the response to Kendrick’s song, “Not Like Us” both online and during Kendrick’s Juneteenth concert, continues the communal call-and-response aspect of rap disses that we’ve loved since its inception. In a short amount of time Not Like Us has become a rap anthem and one of the year’s most streamed songs, much like Drake’s Back to Back became a Grammy-nominated song.
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The Rap beef of the century has left Sheryl Crow feeling a ways. She recently slammed Drake for resurrecting Tupak Shakure via AI.
Recently BBC conducted an interview with the singer. While the Kennett, Missouri native touched on a variety of topics regarding her artistry and storied career, it was her opinion on artificial intelligence that became her hottest take. On her newest album Evolution she touches on the technology on the title track. When asked about it she says that artificial intelligence is a “betrayal” and “goes against everything humanity is based on.”
She became aware of it last year when one of her colleagues used AI to recreate John Meyer sing her vocals. As a big Meyer, Sheryl Crow was stunned when she heard the final product saying “there would be no way you’d have been able to tell that he was not singing that song.” But it wasn’t until Drake and Kendrick’s recent Rap battle where Crow things were taken too far.
“Taylor Made Freestyle” featured artificial vocals from Snoop Dogg and 2Pac which apparently was like a punch to the gut for Sheryl. “You cannot bring people back from the dead and believe that they would stand for that,” she said. “I’m sure Drake thought, ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t do it, but I’ll say sorry later’. But it’s already done, and people will find it even if he takes it down. She went on to add “it’s hateful. It is antithetical to the life force that exists in all of us.”
Drake eventually removed “Taylor Made Freestyle” from his social media channels. You can listen to the track below.
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Keefe D will seek to prepare for his upcoming trial from the comfort of his home. He has asked to be set free on bail.
As reported by The Grio the former Los Angeles gang leader has asked the presiding judge to let him out of jail while he waits for trial. On Thursday, June 20 his legal representatives formally submitted a request on the behalf of their client. In response the judge has scheduled a hearing to review the request where Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ attorney will ask for bail. If approved the alleged Southside Crip shot caller will be free on house arrest with electric monitoring.
Recently media personality and entertainment entrepreneur Wack 100, born Cash Jones, has toyed with the idea of putting up the bail money for Keffe D. In a recent livestream on Clubhouse he spoke to his Keefe’s son, Duane Davis Jr., seemingly confirming he would help them secure the bond in exchange for Keefe’s story rights. It has not been confirmed by Keffe D’s attorney Carl Arnold whether or not Wack 100 contributed to the bail monies.
In September 2023 Davis was arrested and charge for first degree murder for his involvement in the drive by shooting that left Tupac Shakur dead. He has since been held at Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. His trial is expected to commence in November.
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Snoop Dogg has found his way into the current “beef” between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, and it had nothing to do with him actually interjecting himself in it but with the use of AI.
Like the rest of the Hip-Hop and music world, Snoop Dogg was stunned to hear AI voice on Drake’s latest diss track at Kendrick Lamer, “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
On Friday (April 19), Drake released his “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which features the computer-generated voices of Snoop Dogg and the late 2Pac “pressing” their West Coast counterpart to respond to Drizzy.
On the song virtual Snoop raps:
“Dot, you know that the D-O-G never fucking doubted you/ But right now it seem like you posted up without a clue of what the fuck you ’bout to do.”
Not too long after the divisive record hit the internet, the Doggfather took to his Instagram account to post a hilarious reaction to AI bars.
“They did what? When? How? Are you sure? [Sigh] Y’all have a good night,” Snoop said in the Instagram clip. “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck— what happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
Will Kendrick Lamar Finally Respond To Drake?
“Taylor Made Freestyle” comes a week after Drake’s first response record, “Push Ups.” When the song hit the internet, thanks to the rampant AI use in the music industry, the song’s validity was initially up in the air.
On the song, Drizzy accuses Lamar of taking his sweet time to respond due to Taylor Swift dropping a new album while also naming TDE’s boss, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith.
“But now we gotta wait a fucking week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new Top/ And if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approve/ This girl really ’bout to make you act like you not in a feud/ She tailor made your schedule with Ant, you out of the loop.
While Drake continues to poke the bear, word on the podcast streets is that K.Dot has a response record ready, according to Joe Budden Podcast host Antwan “Ish” Marby, who claims the record is on the level of 2Pac’s “Hit Em Up.”
“Some people that have heard the Kendrick track, I heard that his energy is just something that’s going to be hard for Drake to match. They said he’s coming on some Pac’ Hit Em Up’ energy,” Ish claims.
We shall see if that’s the case. We just want Kendrick Lamar to take his time and deliver a worthy response, no one wants a wack a** diss record.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Sonic Editions released a new collection of rare, never-before-seen photographs of Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan […]
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Source: Pool / Getty / Duane “Keefe D” Davis
Duane “Keefe D” Davis, who was charged with the murder of Tupac Shakur, was granted bail and house arrest.
Spotted on The HuffPost, a Las Vegas judge set bail for Davis at $750,000 for the Los Angeles gang leader who was charged with orchestrating the murder of the legendary Hip-Hop star in 1996.
The judge also said Davis could go on house arrest after Davis’ attorneys successfully argued their client doesn’t pose a danger to society due to his health issues.
Per The HuffPost:
Court-appointed attorneys for Duane “Keffe D” Davis told The Associated Press after the hearing in Las Vegas that they believe he can post bail. They had asked for bail of not more than $100,000.
The lawyers argued in a court filing a day before that their client — not witnesses, as prosecutors had said — faced danger. And they say that their 60-year-old client is in poor health after battling cancer, which is in remission, and that he won’t flee to avoid trial.
“We believe he can” post bail, public defender Robert Arroyo said after Tuesday’s hearing.
Attorneys For Duane “Keefe D” Davis Had A Solid Argument
Davis’ attorneys also called out lawyers for misrepresenting a jail phone call and a list of names that went to the Davis family.
The attorneys pointed to the prosecutors Marc DiGiacomo and Binu Palal’s use of the term “green light” during the October jail call, calling it “flat out wrong.”
The prosecution argued to the judge that “In (Davis’) world, a ‘green light’ is an authorization to kill.”
Prosecutors argue that Davis’ own words since 2008 from police interviews, a 2019 tell-all memoir, and in the media implicated him in one of the world’s most popular cold cases.
Davis’ legal team says that his descriptions of Shakur’s killing were “done for entertainment purposes and to make money.”
We will continue to monitor how this case pans out.
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Photo: Pool / Getty
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Any kind of memorabilia that was personally signed by the likes of Tupac Shakur or The Notorious B.I.G. is as scarce as they come. So you can bet that when something like that hits the auction block, it’s going to fetch a pretty penny from somebody with deep pockets.
Source: Moments In Time / Moments In Time
According to TMZ, such items have just become available to whoever got a quarter mil to spare as Momentsintime.com have posted the finger print cards that both Tupac and Biggie had to fill out and sign when they were taken into police custody back in the day. With the asking price at a staggering $225,000 per card, you can bet that whoever ends up purchasing either one of these joints (or both) probably has money to burn.
Our money’s on Jay-Z buying Big’s finger print card while Jada Pinkett Smith will end up copping Tupac’s joint and displaying it somewhere that Will Smith has to walk past every single day. Just sayin’.
TMZ reports:
Check it out … Tupac’s fingerprint docs — which list him under his real name, Lesane Parish Crooks — stem from his 1995 arrest … for which he served 9 months of his 1.5-year sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female fan named Ayanna Jackson.
Meanwhile, Biggie also makes history with his arrest fingerprint docs … the first-ever piece you can snag of him signing off by his real name, Christopher Wallace.
With the ’95 arrest season in full swing, Biggie was also booked then for a robbery and aggravated assault charge in Pennsylvania … but the robbery charges were later dismissed.
You have to wonder how someone was able to get access to these joints. Either way, someone’s about to get paid big time.
Who do you think might end up dropping a half a million on these joints? Would you cop if you had it like that? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Though the iconic Tupac Shakur may not crack the Top 10 of this current Hip-Hop generation’s list of rap GOATs, us older heads know the impact he had on the culture. So when his personal items hit the auction block, you can expect them to sell for quite the grip.
According to Digital Music News, such was the case when one of the late-great Makaveli’s iced out rings went to auction. And Tupac’s ring was estimated to sell for anywhere between $200,000 – $300,000, it ultimately ended up moving for a whopping $1.016 million! That’s a whole lotta paper for a ring that would probably sell for a few stacks had it not been owned by the legendary music artist.
While we don’t know who ended up with the winning bid, we wouldn’t be surprised if it was Tupac’s former bestie/love, Jada Pinkett Smith. She’ll probably wear that joint around the house and wave it in front of Will Smith on some John Cena ish like “You can’t see me!” Will Smith gonna end up catching a body one day. Just sayin’.
The sale comes years after the iconic crown that The Notorious B.I.G. wore for his Rap Pages photoshoot sold for $500,000, which apparently went to Jay-Z. And that joint wasn’t even real gold!
What do y’all think of Tupac’s ring selling for a milli and who do you think bought it? Let us know in the comments section below.
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