"Who Shot Ya?" is a song by American rapper

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

, backed by

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

Bad Boy Entertainment Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and R&B artists, beginning ...

released it on February 21, 1995, on an alternate reissue of Wallace's single "

Big Poppa "Big Poppa" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on December 24, 1994, as the second single from his debut studio album ''Ready to Die''. Produced by Chucky Thompson and Nashiem Myrick, it samples the song " Between the ...

/Warning". Its new B-side "Who Shot Ya", a revision of a track already issued earlier in 1995, was "controversial and hugely influential."

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

with Anthony DeCurtis, ''The Soundtrack of My Life'' (New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2012)
p 409
"In 1999 Bad Boy released ''Born Again'', a posthumous album of Biggie material that consisted of unfinished songs, previously unreleased material completed by collaborations with other rappers, and the controversial and hugely influential song 'Who Shot Ya?' " Widely interpreted as a taunt at

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, the single provoked a "rap battle" between the two rappers, formerly friends. Wallace, when interviewed, explained his "Who Shot Ya" lyrics as simply portraying a rivalry between drug dealers. The instrumental is a sample that loops a portion of soul singer David Porter's 1971 song "I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over", from the album ''Victim of the Joke? An Opera''. The song supposedly references Shakur's 1994 non-fatal shooting, which Shakur had suspected Wallace of being involved with. Wallace disputed Shakur's portrayal, and called the rumors blaming him "crazy" in the track's lyrics.

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

, interviewer
"Mail: Tupac Shakur: The final chapter"
''Vibe'', 1995 Aug;3(6):25–29, where ''Vibe'' publishes the most relevant responses to Tupac's January comments published in ''Vibe'''s April issue:

Andre Harrell Andre O’Neal Harrell (September 26, 1960 – May 7, 2020) was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper. He formed the short-lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown in 1980; they sig ...

& Biggie Smalls o
p 25
James " Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, here called simply "Booker", o
pp 25–26
rapper

Little Shawn Tyrone Shawn Wilkins, (born December 21, 1969) better known as Little Shawn and Shawn Pen, is an American rapper, songwriter and producer from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He released a single in 1986 My girl Mother (Select Records) and an album c ...

o
p 26
Sean "Puffy" Combs o
p 27
and Randy " Stretch" Walker on pp 27
29
(Andre Harrell meanwhile fell from Tupac's suspicions, and Tupac seemingly never quite accused Little Shawn. Incidentally, Fab Five Freddy was an early ambassador of hip hop.) Puffy and Biggie reportedly resumed print silence until interviewed in June 1996

''Slate (magazine)">Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

.com'', 13 Nov 2019], yielding a cover story in ''Vibe'''s September 1996 issue [The Blackspot
"Stakes is high"
''Vibe'', 1996 Sep;4(7):100–104]. Out of prison, Tupac answered in June 1996 by the B side "

Hit 'Em Up "Hit 'Em Up" is a diss track by American rapper 2Pac, featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single " How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chiefly Shakur' ...

"—accusing Wallace by name—a "

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

" which inflamed the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry to its peak. Associates of Wallace who witnessed his "Who Shot Ya" recording have unanimously disputed that it targeted Shakur. Tupac's fatal shooting in September 1996 and Wallace's in March 1997, both officially unresolved, drew speculations partly blaming the "rap battle". The track was reissued in 1999 on the posthumous Biggie album ''

Born Again To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

'', in 2001 on a "Big Poppa/Warning" reissue with remixes, in 2004 on a

remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

of his 1994 debut album ''

Ready to Die ''Ready to Die'' is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and distributed by Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean Combs, Sean "Puffy ...

'', and in 2007 on his compilation album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

''. The rock band

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock music, rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992. T ...

's music video for their 2016

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

protests gun violence.

Closing another B side

Track selection

In July 1993,

Uptown Records Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by old school rapper ‘Dr Jekyll’ - Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip-hop. Beginnings and success In ...

' founder

fired his unbridled A&R man and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

, age 23, whose new label,

, then found parenting by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

.For a Sean "Puffy" Combs" cover story begun before but finished after his firing from Uptown Records, see

Scott Poulson-Bryant Scott Poulson-Bryant is an American journalist and author. One of the co-founding editors of ''Vibe'' magazine in 1992 (and the editor who gave the magazine its name), Poulson-Bryant's journalism, profiles, reviews, and essays have appeared in ...

, "Puff Daddy", ''Vibe'', 1993 Sep;1(1):89–96, esp p
89

96
For a synopsis from two years of retrospect, see Kiki Mason
"Pop goes the ghetto"
''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'', 1995 Oct 23;28(42):37–43
p 42
By late 1994, Bad Boy prevailed via rapper

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single " Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the ' ...

's hit single "

Flava in Ya Ear "Flava in Ya Ear" is a song by American rapper Craig Mack. It was released on July 2, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Project: Funk da World'' (1994). The song was remixed with the ad ...

," yet especially by Bad Boy's first album, ''

'',For a contemporary glimpse of the label's early success, see J. R. Reynolds
"Combs' Bad Boy label makes good"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 1995 May 20;107(20):18,23. For 15 years of hindsight, rather, see

Bill Adler Bill Adler (born December 18, 1951) is an American music journalist and critic. Since the late 1960s, he has worked in the music business in a variety of capacities, including as a record store clerk, radio disc jockey, critic, publicist, biogra ...

, ''In Ya Grill: The Faces of Hip Hop'' (New York: Billboard Books/

Watson-Guptill Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. History The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest William Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their head ...

, 2007)
p 44
released on September 13, 1994, the debut album of

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

per Notorious B.I.G.Derrick Parker w/ Matt Diehl, ''Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's first "Hip-Hop Cop"'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006)
p 113
For swift summary of Biggie's entry into the music industry, see Robert C Schaller Jr, ''Kanye West: A Biography'' (Santa Barbara, CA:

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...

/ ABC-CLIO, 2009)
p 43
The album is mostly grim and hardcore, but Puffy removed "Who Shot Ya" from it.Ronin Ro, ''Bad Boy: The Influence of Sean "Puffy" Combs On the Music Industry'' (New York: Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, 2001), p
59

60
discuss the ''

'' tracks and singles, including the conflict of visions, Puffy's popular versus Biggie's hardcore. "By the time he", Puffy, "felt the album was complete, he had removed Nashiem's track 'Who Shot Ya,' added ' Juicy' and 'Respect,' and set 'Dead Wrong' aside as unusable. Now it was time to choose the first single. Biggie wanted his violent number 'Machine Gun Funk' to introduce him, but Puffy explained that 'Juicy' would get on radio and sell more copies" 59 "Despite any misgivings Biggie may have had regarding singles, Puffy had his marketing approach down pat: Each Biggie single featured a commercial song with radio appeal backed with a harder number for the 'street.' The approach worked. 'Juicy' sold over half a million copies. '

' sold twice that amount. ' One More Chance,' backed with a remix of Biggie's duet with

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, 'The What,' sold a million copies
p 62
Biggie wanted the first single to be "Machine Gun Funk." Puffy made the first two A sides instead friendly songs—" Juicy" and then "

," songs that Biggie resisted recordingJoel Anderson
"The B-side that deepened Biggie and Tupac's rift"
''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

.com'', Slate Group, 13 Nov 2019.—to increase radio appeal and sales, yet placed harder songs as their B sides. The "Big Poppa" B side, "Warning," an album track, thus in practice a "double A side," relies on the instrumental of

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

's cover version of "

Walk on By "Walk On By" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for singer Dionne Warwick in 1963. Warwick's recording of the song peaked at number 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 1 on the Cash Box Rhythm and Blues Chart In June 19 ...

," and casts Biggie suspecting that members of his own circle will set up him up for a robbery. Each of the two songs received its own music video."The Notorious B.I.G.—'Warning' (official music video)"
''The Notorious B.I.G.'' "Official Artist Channel" @ YouTube, 6 Sep 2011.

Mixtape version

An underground "Who Shot Ya" differing—but same instrumental—was released in 1995 before the single.Bandini
"DJ SNS liberates the original mixtape version of Biggie's 'Who Shot Ya' with a Keith Murray verse (audio)"
''AmbrosiaForHeads.com'', 17 Mar 2014, embeds a YouTube video of a still image plus audio, and wholly addresses the topic: "One particular standout from Stan Ipcus's stellar feature is the bit on 'Who Shot Ya?.' The controversial song, produced by Nashiem Myrick & Diddy (who chillingly flipped a sample by Isaac Hayes' production partner David Porter), featured some uncharacteristic

ad-lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...

shots from Puff Daddy at the time, and seemed to chide 2Pac into the beef that would transpire less than a year later. Like so many great myths surrounding The Notorious B.I.G. and mid-'90s Bad Boy, SNS maintains that his version, hitting the streets first in 1995, featured Keith Murray. While the

Def Squad Def Squad is an American rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray, Hurricane G, and Jamal Jamaal ( ''/'') is an Arabic given name and surname meaning "beauty."aughs.You only heard Keith Murray's verse on the Mary My Life ''interlude">My_Life_(Mary_J._Blige_album).html" ;"title=". Blige'' My Life (Mary J. Blige album)">My Life ''interlude But his whole verse wasn't on there, [it was just a snippet that faded in and out]. I had the full version. " (The italics and brackets are native to this source.) Amid lore of this mixtape version, some speculated that it was a myth. (In 2017, DJ EFN casually ventured that he may have had an underground issue on vinyl in a white sleeve, as used by DJs, before December 1994.)

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage name, stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga, is an American rapper, singer and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one ...

& DJ EFN, interviewers
"Lil' Cease , ''Drink Champs'' (full episode)"
''Revolt'' @ YouTube, 23 Aug 2017: time mar
12:00
on the November 1994 shooting
14:04
on the Tupac & Biggie rivalry, an
18:13
on the "Who Shot Ya" song. (For some written synopsis, see Shaheem Reid, " ' Drink Champs'
Lil Cease says Tupac was ready to squash beef with B.I.G. after his Vegas trip
, '' Revolt.tv'', 17 Aug 2017.) In 2014, when the mixtape "Who Shot Ya" was traced to DJ S&S, a renowned issuer of New York mixtapes in the 1990s,DJ S&S, or DJ SNS, is from

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

[Chuck Creekmur
"All mixed up: Caught on tape"
''Vibe'', 2004 Aug;12(8):103–107]. In 1988, DJ Kid Capri had issued the first mixtape that was not a recording of live performances [Iamni Dawson
"Recorded history: Driving the wheels of steel down mixtape memory lane"
''Vibe'', 2004 Aug;12(8):107]. But it was DJ S&S who, in 1993, "leaks Nas's seminal debut, ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' (stylized in lowercase) is the debut studio album by the American rapper Nas, released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung ...

'', to the streets, taking the concept of 'exclusives' to another level." 'Ibid''./ref> its original audio was publicized. Like a mixtape track, it is only two minutes long—one Biggie verse, 24 bars, then one Keith Murray verse, 23 bars, amid "

hype man A hype man, typically in hip hop music, is a backing vocalist who supports the primary performer with exclamations, interjections, or ad-libs in an attempt to increase an audience's excitement or engagement. Origins Early hype men included Keef C ...

" Puffy tersely yelling announcementsJessica McKinny
"The lost art of the hype man"
''Vibe.com'', Prometheus Global Media, LLC, 17 Jul 2017.—but the verses are longer than the standard 16 bars. In 2004, Brooklyn rapper Shawn "

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

" Carter recollected, about the mixtape,"Notorious B.I.G.: Still the illest"
''MTV.com'', MTV Networks, 9 Mar 2006
archived elsewhere
on 24 May 2012, including page 2, Jay-Z: "The world stopped when he dropped 'Who Shot Ya',"
simultaneously archived
"I've heard songs I like, but the last time I remember being truly, truly inspired was when I heard 'Who Shot Ya.' "

Shawn Carter Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and ''Vibe'' in ...

, "Hova and out", ''Vibe'', 2004 Jan;12(1):72–80
p 76
One night, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, cofounder of Jay-Z's label,

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...

, drew him to Harlem's 125 Street, entered his car, inserted the tape, and fled. Jay-Z reflects, "He knew that if I heard 'Who Shot Ya?,' it's going to inspire me to make songs even hotter. But that song, it was so crazy. It just had an effect on everybody. The world stopped when he dropped 'Who Shot Ya?' " On Jay-Z's track "Brooklyn's Finest" off ''

Reasonable Doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of ...

'', guest Biggie includes the phrase ''who shot ya'' and the word ''warning''.

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, Baptist minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletche ...

, ''Jay-Z: Made in America'' (New York:

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, 2019), p
101–103
discusses Biggie's feature on "Brooklyn's Finest", a track on fellow Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z's June 1996 album [Sound recording,
Brooklyn's Finest
, ''

'' "Official Artist Channel" @ YouTube, 21 Aug 2019]. Dyson writes, "Who Shot Ya?' and 'Warning' are both breakout tracks on Bigge's 1994 classic debut, ''

''. But the phrase and word, along with the acerbically ironic reference to Tupac, are also eerily intermingled with the intangible yet volatile exchanges that fueled the so-called bicoastal rap feud" 103 Although mistakenly locating "Who Shot Ya" on the 1994 album instead of on the album's 2004 reissue, Dyson has already located the Tupac reference instead on Jay-Z's 1996 album. Dyson explains, " 'Brooklyn's Finest' isn't Jay and Big's only collaboration, but it is the most telling, because so much of what will happen to B.I.G., and how Jay-Z will eventually align himself as B.I.G.'s heir apparent, is built into these lyrics. Consider the following references in B.I.G.'s verses: 'Frank White,' the character in the 1990 cult flick ''

King of New York ''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo and Wesley Snipes, with supporting roles played by Gianc ...

''; the phrase ' Cristal forever'; the line 'who shot ya?'; the word 'warning'; and the line 'If Fay had twins, she'd probably have two 'Pacs (uh!) / Get it? Tu—Pac's" 101 ''Frank White'' is an alias for Biggie's rap persona, whereas Jay-Z, writes Dyson, "led the charge against Cristal for their racism in 2006" 101 More factually, the champagne maker's managing director, Frédéric Rouzaud, when interviewed for the "Intelligent Life" column of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' magazine's May 2006 issue, had indicated greeting with "curiosity and serenity" how routinely rappers were brandishing "Cris" or "Crissi" lan Tardi, ''Champagne, Uncorked'' (New York: PublicAffairs, 2016)
p 206
]. "Asked whether the association might hurt the brand, Rouzaud replied, "That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Pérignon or Krug (Champagne), Krug would be delighted to have their business.' When Jay Z learned of these statements, he promptly exorcised the name from all his song lyrics and videos, removed Cristal from his chain of clubs, and, happily taking Rouzaud up on his suggestion, replaced it with Krug and Dom Pérignon" 206 Jay-Z, further, brought a new champagne brand,

Armand de Brignac Armand de Brignac, known colloquially as Ace of Spades, is a French Champagne owned by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and LVMH. The brand is produced by Champagne Cattier and sold in opaque metallic bottles. The brand's first bottling, Armand de Brignac B ...

, also called "Ace of Spades" yson, 2019, p 102 and placed it in his "

Show Me What You Got "Show Me What You Got" is the lead single by rap artist Jay-Z from his album '' Kingdom Come''. Song information It is the first single from his "comeback" album '' Kingdom Come''. It was produced by Just Blaze. The song samples " Show 'Em W ...

" music video, set in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, wherein he arrives with a briefcase that eventually, once he is offered Cristal, opens to reveal Ace of Spades instead ardi, 2016, p 206 In "Kingdom Come", he raps, "I thought dude's remark was rude, okay? / So I moved on to Dom, Krug Rosé / And it's much bigger issues in the world, I know / But first I had to take care of the world I know" yson, 2019, p 102 As to Tupac, rather, Biggie's two "Brooklyn's Finest" verses include one instance of the phrase ''who shot ya'' and, later, one inclusion of the word ''warning'', while ''Fay'' is apparently Biggie's moniker for his own wife, in real life,

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...

, whom he married within a few weeks of their first meeting in July 1994 and who is rumored to have slept with Tupac between Tupac's release from prison on 13 October 1995 and 2 December 1995 interview for the Death Row Records cover story in ''Vibe'' magazine's February 1996 issue.

Single version

Closing the week of February 25, 1995, the "Big Poppa/Warning" single—released December 5, 1994"The Notorious B.I.G.: 'Big Poppa' "
'' AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited 6 Jun 2020.—had spent six weeks, including five weeks at No. 1, on ''

'''s

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

chart. The single entered the main popular songs chart, the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, the week ending January 14 and, enduring 24 weeks, peaked at No. 6 on March 18.Chart history
"The Notorious B.I.G."
''Billboard.com'', Billboard Media, LLC, visited 26 Nov 2021. Yet on February 21, Bad Boy issued a new "Big Poppa/Warning" with an added B side, "Who Shot Ya," which grew Biggie's menacing persona. The track also includes "hype man" Puffy, previously friendly, yelling in uncharacterisic aggression.Ronin Ro, ''Bad Boy: The Influence of Sean "Puffy" Combs On the Music Industry'' (New York: Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, 2001). On p
79
��80, Ro skims the September 1995 shooting of Suge Knight's friend and bodyguard Jake "Big Jake" Robles, allegedly by Sean "Puffy" Combs's cousin and bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones, after an altercation with Puffy's Bad Boy entourage at Atlanta nightclub Platinum House. And pp 80�
81
discussing 'Who Shot Ya", explain, "The song went from mixtapes to record stores to being Biggie's main topic during an interview with New York radio station

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

. Biggie tried to explain that the song wasn't about Tupac, that it described a turf war between an older drug dealer and an ambitious young rival. But the industry rumor mill was churning, and according to wags, while performing the song during a party on a boat, he supposedly included Tupac's name a few times. Most disturbing, besides Bad Boy's timing, was Biggie saying, 'I wrote that motherfucking song way before Tupac got shot. It was supposed to be the intro to that shit Keith Murray was doing on Mary J. Blige's joint My Life''">My_Life_(Mary_J._Blige_album).html" ;"title="'My Life (Mary J. Blige album)">My Life'' But Puff said it as too hard.' Now Puffy appeared on the song, growling, 'East Coast, motherfucker.' " [p 81]. The instrumental is basically a Loop (music), repeating Sample (music), portion of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer David Porter's 1971 song "I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over,"Admin, "Reclaiming the remix w/ Maschine, ep 3
Notorious B.I.G. 'Who Shot Ya?' w/ Nasheim Myrick
, ''Blog.Dubspot.com'', DS14, Inc., 6 Jun 2013, summarizes a corresponding video: Shareef Islam, interviewer
"Reclaiming the remix w/ Maschine Ep 3: Notorious B.I.G. 'Who Shot Ya?' w/ Nasheim Myrick"
''Dubspot'' "Verified" channel @ YouTube, 6 Jun 2013, whereb
01:11
opens discussion of "Who Shot Ya" production.Sound recording
"[I'm Afraid
The Masquerade Is Over"">'m Afraid">"[I'm Afraid
The Masquerade Is Over" ''David Porter'' "Official Artist Channel" @ YouTube, 20 Jun 2019, indicates 9 minutes and 41 seconds,

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

, January 1, 1971. The song has two halves, first Porter's

of a 1939 classic, and then Porter's original extension. The cover's final four bars begin a
04:10
and the fifth bar thereafter, beginning at 04:20, opens the extension, whose early bars lend the "Who Shot Ya" instrumental.

Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...

wrote the words while

Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isa ...

wrote the music of the original "I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over" 200 of the Best Songs
from the Swing Era">ob DuBoff, ed,
200 of the Best Songs
from the Swing Era'' (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1996)]. They copyrighted it in December 1938 [Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 3: ''Musical Compositions'', Volume 33, No. 10 (Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1939), #34430
p 1447
"The song was a minor hit in early 1939 as recorded by

Larry Clinton Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was an American musician, best known as a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger. His jazz and pop standards were "The Dipsy Doodle" (1937), "My Reverie" (1938), ...

with vocalist Bea Wain and was later done" "by both

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

", who all were artists either jazz or, as jazz's dancehall outgrowth,

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

nowiki/>Brian Priestley, "Charlie Parker">Brian_Priestley.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Brian Priestley">nowiki/>Brian Priestley, "Charlie Parker and popular music", in Edward Berger, Henry Martin & Dan Morgenstern, eds, ''Annual Review of Jazz Studies'', Vol. 14 (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2009), p 87
/nowiki> ]. In 1957, jazz singer

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

offered a rendition, too. In 1962, so did jazz singer Nancy Wilson, whose version crossed over as a popular hit Jazz notes
, ''Billboard'', 2002 Feb 23;114(8):36A">Billboard (magazine)">''Billboard'', 2002 Feb 23;114(8):36A In 1965,

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer, known for his rich baritone voice and recordings of ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. ...

offered a version more pop but less successful [Gregg Akkerman, ''The Last Balladeer: The Johnny Hartman Story'' (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013)
p 141
In December 1965, the original copyright was renewed [Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries: ''Third series'': Music, July–December 1965 (Washington DC: Copyright Office, 1967)
p 2175
variously sampled in numerous rap songs.Alvin Blanco, ''The Wu-Tang Clan and RZA: A Trip Through Hip Hop's 36 Chambers'', in Juleyka Lantigua Williams, editor, series ''Hip Hop in America'' (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2011)
p 52
"Who Shot Ya" is among the most influential and historic.John Kennedy
"Biggie's 'Who Shot Ya' was made for Mary J. Blige, according to Funkmaster Flex"
'' Vibe.com'', Prometheus Global Media, LLC, 28 Oct 2014: "

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1967), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Ho ...

plans to drop bombs on your bookshelf. The legendary rap jockey is partnering with journalist Karen Hunter and publisher

Simon Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

for a book of unbelievable stories about The Notorious B.I.G." "But the snippet that will make rap heads swivel concerns Big Poppa's most infamous classic: 'The song "Who Shot Ya" was originally an intro for Mary J. Blige's album. Uptown/ MCA said it was too hard. The song in its original form had a verse from Big, Keith Murray and

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, though LL never did his verse. The song still exists!' "Martin E. Connor, ''The Musical Artistry of Rap'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2018), p
128

129
In 2020, ''

Vulture.com ''Vulture'' is an American entertainment news website. It is the standalone pop culture section of ''New York'' magazine. Its tagline is "Devouring Culture". History ''Vulture'' debuted in April 2007 as an entertainment blog on nymag.com, the w ...

'', owned by ''

'' magazine, ranked it #52 among "100 songs that define New York rap."Naima Cochrane, "52. The Notorious B.I.G., 'Who Shot Ya' (1994)", in William E. Ketchum III, Craig Jenkins & Dee Lockett, eds.
"The 100 Songs That Define New York Rap, Ranked"
''

'', Vox Media, LLC, 14 Sep 2020. Published lyrics may omit Puffy's vocals,"Tupac and Biggie's battle songs"
''Los Angeles Times'', 17 Mar 2008. Note that these republished lyrics omit several lines even by the main artists themselves. repeatedly yelling, in part, "As we proceed— / to give you what you need— / 9-5, motherfuckers— / Get live, motherfuckers— / As we proceed— / to give you what you need— / East Coast, motherfuckers— / Bad Boy, motherfuckers—." Otherwise, one writer estimates, "The story Biggie tells in 'Who Shot Ya?' is simple and brutal. Someone's out to get him, but Biggie gets the drop on his foe."

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

recognizes Biggie's verses for, nonetheless, "using the art of music to make the art of war sound beautiful." "Biggie, menacing as ever," describes a writer in ''

'', "makes use of negative space in his verses that give his threats a biblical intensity."Brian Josephs
"The Notorious B.I.G.'s 25 best songs: Critic's picks"
''Billboard.com'', Billboard Media, LLC, 9 Mar 2020. Meanwhile, the instrumental, "deceptively candied," "lends the missive a psychedelic quality." Yet this instrumental was heard briefly by R&B fans since the November 29, 1994,"Mary J. Blige, ''My Life''"
''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited 25 Sep 2021. release of

Mary J Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy A ...

's second album, '' My Life'',Chris Williams, interviewer, with Carl "Chucky" Thompson &

Prince Charles Alexander Charles Alexander (born April 2, 1958), known professionally as Prince Charles Alexander, is an American record producer, audio engineer and professor of music. He received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2003. Early life an ...

, interviewees
"Key tracks: Mary J. Blige's ''My Life''"
''Daily.RedBullMusicAcademy.com'',

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

, Red Bull, 25 Nov 2014. first in track one, titled "Intro,"Sound recording
"Intro"
''Mary J Blige'' "Official Artist Channel" @ YouTube, 31 Jul 2018. and then in track six, "K. Murray Interlude."Sound recording
"K. Murray Interlude"
''Mary J Blige'' "Official Artist Channel" @ YouTube, 31 Jul 2018. Apart from Puffy's closing words spoken, the entire vocals are Keith Murray rapping, approximately, "// — Catch this word; it's

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

// in your head, back, chest, arms, and legs. // When I'm coming through, grab your cranium for ulti- // -matum, son. I faze subterranean. // My subliminals mix with criminal chemicals. // Got more milky syllables. . . ". (The above quote blends the apparent audio with the partially contradictory lyrics published a
"K. Murray Interlude': Mary J. Blige"
''Lyrics.com'', LyricFind, visited 27 May 2020, in lieu of

CBS Interactive Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media, CBS Interactive, and ViacomCBS Streaming) is a division of Paramount Global that oversees the company's video streaming technology and direct-to-consumer services; including Pluto TV and Paramo ...

's '' MetroLyrics.com'', which seemingly lacks an entry for this track.)

Production backstory

In 2014, a publicity piece for New York rap DJ and

radio host

's new book announced, "The song 'Who Shot Ya' was originally an intro for

's album. Uptown/ MCA said it was too hard. The song in its original form had a verse from Big, Keith Murray, and

, though LL never did his verse. The song still exists!' "

''My Life'' recording

"Who Shot Ya" traces to the Uptown Records recording of R&B singer Mary J Blige's second or November 1994 album, '' My Life''.The Blackspot, "Stakes is high", ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'', 1996 Sep;4(7):100–104
p 104
Its

s were Carl "Chucky" Thompson,Danny Alexander, ''Real Love, No Drama: The Music of Mary J. Blige'' (Austin:

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...

, 2016), p
52

54

, and Sean "Puffy" Combs, while Nashiem Myrick, studio manager, "played a big role."Chucky Thompson elaborated, "Puff gave us money to go the record store and buy whatever we needed. Nashiem Myrick and I would go to the record store. Nashiem was the studio manager at the time, and he played a big role in the success of the album as well. Puff would give us a grand at a time and would tell us go to the

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...

store in Times Square and grab what we needed." [Chris Williams, interviewer
"Key tracks: Mary J. Blige's ''My Life''"

website, 25 Nov 2014]. Chucky Thompson and Nashiem Myrick had been Puffy's fellow students at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, located in Washington DC, where they worked together to organize and promote music performances on campus or in nearby clubs onin Ro, ''Bad Boy'' (New York: Pocket Books, 2001), p 10 Once Puffy was fired from Uptown Records and was still starting Bad Boy Entertainment, he began working out of his mother's house, while Thompson "produced music" and Myrick was "a studio intern" 47 Bad Boy's deal with Arista granted granted Bad Boy new offices in Manhattan on 19th Street and 5th Avenue, and by then Myrick was "production coordinator" 53 Prince Alexander was a Bad Boy regular,XXL staff
"The making of the Notorious B.I.G.'s ''Ready to Die'': Family business"
'' XXLmag.com'', 11 Sep 2014. whereas Chucky Thompson and Nashiem Myrick were among " the Hitmen," the inner circle of staff record producers at Bad Boy Entertainment.Naima Cochrane
"Music sermon: We've been sleeping on Bad Boy's dream team"
''Vibe.com'', 15 Sep 2019. Puffy began Bad Boy in 1992 while A&R director at, and initially in partnership with,

's Uptown Records.Several interviewees
"How ya living, Biggie Smalls?"
''TheFader.com'',

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

, Inc., 25 May 2011. The interviewees are ''

Source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

'' magazine columnist "Matty C",

intern Dan Smalls, Uptown Records founder Andrew Harrell, Biggie's co-manager Mark Pitts, Biggie's first DJ 50 Grand, Biggie's first tour DJ

Big Kap Keith Carter (February 26, 1970 – February 3, 2016), also known as Big Kap and The Wardin, was an American hip-hop DJ who was born in New York City and was later based in Atlanta. Career In 1995 he was a member of hip hop supergroup The F ...

, rap journalist Dream Hampton, Brooklyn rapper

Buckshot A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a ...

, Biggie's North Carolina acquaintance "Smoke", Biggie's co-manager

Wayne Barrow Wayne Barrow (born April 2, 1965) is an American film producer, talent manager and businessman. He is the founder and co-owner with Mark Pitts of ByStorm Entertainment. He is the CEO of Barrow Films CEO of Brooklyns Finest, Inc, CEO of StormT ...

, Bad Boy R&B group 112's manager Courtney "Brother Bear" Sills, Los Angeles rapper/producer

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has ...

, video director

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters (snooker), Masters champion, winning the event in 2001 Masters (snooker), 2001, 2002 Masters (snooker), 2002, a ...

, and Bad Boy VP Jeff Burroughs. Myrick had joined Bad Boy at its outset in 1993 as "studio intern," but in 1994 was its "production coordinator." Myrick, as the main producer of "Who Shot Ya," recalls Puffy tasking him to make an instrumental for rapper Keith Murray as an interlude on Blige's album. Myrick thus "came up with 'Who Shot Ya' "—or at least its basic instrumental—Myrick recalled in 2013. Despite the "Who Shot Ya" impetus or evolution being retold with some discrepancies across the interviewed witnesses—Biggie himself, Nashiem Myrick, Chucky Thompson, and Biggie's protégé

Lil' Cease James Lloyd, better known by his stage name Lil' Cease, (; born August 20, 1977) is an American rapper and former member of hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Early life, family and education James Lloyd was born in Brooklyn, a borough of New Y ...

—agreed is that Puffy declared the result "too hard" for the R&B album. ''My Life'' opens with the track titled "Intro," 64 seconds long, which at 22 seconds begins and sustains the "Who Shot Ya" instrumental, without any of its vocals, at low volume under Puffy's speech, soon in dialog with Mary J Blige's. Track six is "K. Murray Interlude," 22 seconds long, which opens with the same instrumental and nearly six bars of Murray's verse, nearly a quarter of his full verse. Midway into Murray's final full line included—''My subliminals mix with criminal chemicals''—Puffy speaks atop it, "Yo, Big Chuck, put on some of that smooth shit, man." Midway into Murray's next line, all music aborts, whereupon a mechanical noise occurs twice, and the track ends.

Instrumental mix

Puffy, savvy on classic records, often told producers exactly what to sample, but sometimes left the task open.Jake Paine
"Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans & more recall the making of Biggie's 'One More Chance' remix (video)"
''AmbrosiaForHeads.com'', 11 Jan 2017. In this case, Nashiem Myrick recalls an open task and the initial instrumental confusing Puffy, because the

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...

showed only one audio source, no isolated drum track. The instrumental was simply one sample on loop, the drums native, explained Myrick. Puffy then tasked Jean-Claude "Poke" Olivier, of the

Trackmasters The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier born January 21, 1970; Brooklyn, New York ) and Tone (Samuel Barnes born January 20, 1969; Brooklyn, New York). Active fro ...

production duo, who both worked for Bad Boy, to simply embellish the drums. Poke's programming of a synthesized

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The hea ...

, heavier and "fluffy," on a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

completed the instrumental. Otherwise, it is a sample from "I'm Afraid the Masquerade is Over" by

singer David Porter, the

co-producer who shared backing vocalists with Hayes, reinterpreted and extended popular hits.Robert Gordon, ''Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion'' (New York:

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

, 2013)
p 429
Porter's

and extension of this 1939 classic is on his "rock/soul opera"

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, released in January 1971, that became a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

, titled ''Victim of the Joke? An Opera.''Some sources indicate 1971 release by

Craft Recordings Craft Recordings is a record label owned by Concord. Like UMe, Legacy Recordings and Rhino Entertainment, Craft specialized in reissues of Concord's back catalog. The imprint was founded in 2017, along with an online store by the same name offe ...

, apparently a newer label reissuing some records originally under

Concord Music Group Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings and music publishing. On Apri ...

, which had sponsored

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, for instance, indicates Craft [David Porter
"''Victim of the Joke? . . . An Opera''"
(Craft Recordings/Concord Music Group, 1971), ''Spotify.com'', 2021], as does Apple Music [David Porter
"''Victim of the Joe? . . . An Opera''"
(Craft Recordings/Concord Music Group, 1971), ''Music.Apple.com'', 2021].

Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...

, however, indicates Stax [David Porter
"''Victim Of The Joke? An Opera''"
(Stax, 1971), ''US.Napster.com'', Rhapsody International Inc., 2021]. Napster adds, "Stax stalwart and Isaac Hayes' songwriting partner David Porter released the rarest of all breeds in 1971: the Soul

. Let's face it; it just wasn't happening. That doesn't mean it was a bad thing. The spoken interludes ramble a bit, and none of the songs became classics, but the energy is great. It's an oddity worth having for collectors and some

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

aficio" 'Ibid''.

Chucky Thompson

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertai ...

, interviewed in 2014, recalled a customary occasion of record shopping with Nasheim Myrick, and this time also entering the studio later while Myrick—inclined to scour records for samples—was playing one of these records in search of a portion to sample, then found one, and played it, looping, for hours.Chris Williams,
Key tracks: Mary J. Blige's ''My Life''
, ''Daily.RedBullMusicAcademy.com'',

, Red Bull, 25 Nov 2014, interviewing her album's two main producers, incidentally asked, "What about the 'K. Murray interlude'?", whereupon Chucky Thompson reportedly answered, "Nashiem and I went record shopping, and I came into the studio one day and Nashiem was listening to one of the records we bought. This particular record was a 14-minute-long song. Nashiem was one of those types of people who would sit down and listen to a 14-minute song and find one section to use as a sample for a new song. Nine minutes into this song, he found what he was looking for, and he kept it looping for hours in the studio. Biggie and Puff came into the studio and this one loop kept playing over and over again. Puff got the idea to use it as an interlude for Mary's ''My Life'' album. Biggie originally rapped the verse on the interlude and he was later replaced by Keith Murray. This sample ended up being used for the Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Who Shot Ya." I still have that recording with me today and him saying that phrase had absolutely nothing to do with Tupac. The reason why Keith Murray was brought in was due to B.I.G.'s verse on the interlude. If we kept his original verse, Puff would have been forced to place an Explicit Lyrics sticker on the album, and he didn't want to do that to Mary, so they brought Keith Murray in to replace Biggie." Puffy meanwhile, having eventually entered the studio with Biggie, "got the idea to use it as an interlude for Mary's ''My Life'' album," recalls Thompson. Thompson adds, "Biggie originally rapped the verse on the interlude, and he was later replaced by Keith Murray." "The reason why Keith Murray was brought in was due to B.I.G.'s verse on the interlude. If we kept his original verse, Puff would have been forced to place an Explicit Lyrics sticker on the album, and he didn't want to do that to Mary, so they brought Keith Murray in to replace Biggie." "This sample," says Thomas, "ended up being used for the Notorious B.I.G.'s song 'Who Shot Ya.' "

Nashiem Myrick

Nashiem Myrick, interviewed in 2013, explained, "Actually, that joint was not meant for Big. We was working on the Mary, ''My Life'', album. Puff came to me and said, 'Listen, I need an interlude beat for Keith Murray.' So one day, I got some time. I'm looking through the stuff in the studio, the CDs and records—''boom'', ''boom''—I come across this record I always wanted to listen to. It's long, it's like 9 minutes long, 11 minutes long, however. Went through the whole record, came up with 'Who Shot Ya.' Keith Murray came through. LL actually came—do the rap on it—but he couldn't finish it. Puff said, 'Go get your man Big, and get him on that record: we have to have it done by Monday.' It was Friday. Found Big. Big came to the studio, blessed me. And that's history." (

, around this time managed by Puffy, was a guest—along with Biggie,

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, and Rampage—on a remix of Bad Boy's first single, Craig Mack's "

.")

Junior M.A.F.I.A.

Biggie, when variously interviewed and asked about "Who Shot Ya," explained the lyrics as portraying a young drug dealer's turf war against an older drug dealer, that "I wrote," and that it "was finished," too, "way before" late November 1994. "It was supposed to be the intro to that shit Keith Murray was doing on Mary J. Blige's joint," Biggie asserted. Mainstays at Biggie's recording sessions were members of his rap clique

Junior M.A.F.I.A. Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B.I. ...

, especially

, who recounts his alliance with Biggie from their Brooklyn neighborhood,

Cheo Hodari Coker Cheo Hodari Coker is an American former music journalist turned television writer and producer known for such television series as ''Luke Cage (TV series), Luke Cage'', ''NCIS: Los Angeles'', ''Southland (TV series), Southland'' and ''Ray Donovan ...

, "Big footprints", ''Vibe'', 2004 Mar;12(3):148–153, p
150
��151. whom Biggie brought into the music industry, and who seemingly was one of only two persons within the music industry whom Biggie thoroughly trusted.Ronin Ro, ''Bad Boy: The Influence of Sean "Puffy" Combs On the Music Industry'' (New York: Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster, 2001), wherein p
54
��55 mention Biggie's recording sessions being routinely appraised by Puffy, by Puffy's regular record producers, who were mainly Puffy's

peers, and by Biggie's rap clique

, which included

, wherea
p 56
indicates, about Biggie, "in the industry, he felt lonely and bored. He couldn't relate to the 'ghetto fabulous' executives. If anything, the people who kept him going were his buddy Lil' Cease and Bad Boy employee Mark Pitts, 'the only nigga who would probably go all out one hundred percent for me.' " Pitts, a carryover from Uptown Records, left his job with Puffy's Bad Boy record label and became a Biggie manager in 1993 56 In 2017, Cease indicated that "Who Shot Ya" recording, too, was "way before" late November 1994, but that "Keith Murray, LL Cool J, and Big" were the original artists on "Who Shot Ya," planned as "the intro to Mary J, ''My Life'', album." Cease added that once this original was rejected as "too hard" for her album, Biggie took it and, adding a verse to replace Keith Murray's verse, made it his own.

Industry rumor mill

The November 1994 attack on Tupac was a turning point in American popular music.

Chuck Philips Charles Alan Philips (October 15, 1952 – January 2024) was an American writer and journalist. He was best known for his investigative reporting in the ''Los Angeles Times'' on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the ...

"James 'Jimmy Henchman' Rosemond implicated himself in 1994 Tupac Shakur attack: Court testimony"
''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'', 12 Jun 2012. Although Biggie never conceded the accusation,

Shea Serrano Shea Serrano (born 1981) is an American author, journalist, humorist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, ''The Ringer (website), The Ringer'' and ''Grantland'', as well as his books, inclu ...

"Timeline: Tupac and Biggie"
''The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed'' (New York: Abrams Image, 2015). Also relevant is the entry "Seven questions: 1
Is this the best rap battle that's ever happened
, a question about the 2001 battle between Nas's

Ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

" versus Jay-Z's "

Takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...

". To answer ''that'' question in the affirmative, the putative battle between Biggie's "Who Shot Ya" and Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up" is disqualified, since Biggie never openly acknowledged a battle. "Tupac Shakur and a legion of his fans interpreted the Biggie B-side 'Who Shot Ya?' as a troll job,"XXL staff
"20 of the most important hip-hop rivalries of all time"
''XXL.com'', XXL Mag, Townsquare Media, Inc., 17 Apr 2019. a barely veiled taunt.Kevin Powell, "Tupac Shakur", in Vibe Street Lit, ''The Vibe Q: Raw and Uncut'' (New York:

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New Yorkbased publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender Grossman (1946–1992). Kensington is known as "Am ...

, 2007), pp 99–121. On p
99

100
Powell reviews his Tupac interview history, particularly the January 1995 interview, jailhouse, published in April 1995. O
pp 110–112
Tupac discusses plans to release "Hit 'Em Up" against "Who Shot Ya" and such, an interview portion excerpted elsewhere [K Powell, interviewer
"Tupac talks 'Hit Em Up' vs. 'Who Shot Ya?' (pg. 2)"
''Vibe.com'', Vibe Media, LLC, 13 Sep 2020]. Ye
p 112
exceeding the excerpt, explains Tupac's indifference to the robbers identities, purportedly already known, by indicating a focus on those who, he says, "Stabbed me through my heart—you know, set me up." In any case, a "rap battle" ensued. Tupac's June 1996

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

, "

," taking lyrical menace to unprecedented extreme, was personal and overt, "arguably the most passionate and unhinged diss record in history." Tupac had been otherwise incarcerated across 1995 into October, but associating menace and homicide began before Tupac's release from prison.Carrie Golus, "Tupac shot" & "East Coast vs. West Coast", pp 55
56
in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' Lifeline Biographies: ''Tupac Shakur: Hip-Hop Idol'' (Minneapolis, MN:

Twenty-First Century Books Lerner Publishing Group, based in Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota since its founding in 1959, is one of the largest independently owned children's book publishers in the United States. With more than 5,000 titles in print, Lerner Publ ...

/Learner Publishing Group, 2011). The new trend in rap culture promptly figured into pop culture.

Lost friendship

In May 1993, on Bad Boy's first visit to Los Angeles, Biggie, upon his first single, " Party and Bullshit," sought and met Tupac. In August and September, in New York to rap, Tupac visited Biggie in Brooklyn, and they rapped shows together in Manhattan. Biggie joined Tupac and Randy " Stretch" Walker—of the

Live Squad Live Squad was an American hip hop group and production team from Hollis, Queens, New York consisting of brothers Stretch (Randy Walker), Majesty (Christopher Walker) and DJ K-Low, best known for their early collaborations with Tupac Shakur. ...

rap/production team from Queens, New York—yielding a new trio of running, rapping, and recording mates.Tayannah Lee McQuillar & Fred L. Johnson III, ''Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon'' (Philadelphia:

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional offi ...

, 2010)
pp 150–151
Yet in July, Puffy's firing from Uptown Records paused Biggie's album recording, an 18 months total while Biggie struggled financially.Shani Saxon, producer
"Back 2 the essence: Friends and family reminisce over hip hop's fallen sons"
''Vibe'', 1999 Oct;7(8):100–116, wherein pp 110–116 cover Biggie an
p 112
covers his entry to the music industry.Biggie's debut album, ''

'', released in September 1994, took about 18 months to finish under Puffy's fledgling label [Ronin Ro, ''Bad Boy'' (New York: Pocket Books, 2001)
p 56
Reportedly, Biggie asked Tupac to manage his career, but Tupac assured him that Puffy would make him a star. "Biggie looked like he was wearing the same pair of Timberlands for a year," recalls Dramacydal's E.D.I. Mean, who contrasts, " 'Pac was staying at the Waldorf Astoria and buying Rolexes and dating Madonna (entertainer), Madonna" [Ben Westhoff
"How Tupac and Biggie went from friends to deadly rivals
, Noisey, ''Vice.com'', Vice Media Group, 12 Sep 2016]. Puffy placed Biggie as guest on two more singles, Mary J. Blige's What's the 411? Remix, "What's the 411?" remix and

Super Cat William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican DJ and toaster who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s danc ...

's " Dolly My Baby." Tupac, star of the films ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'' and ''

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...

'' had his second album '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993) yield his first Top 10 hits on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, "

I Get Around "I Get Around" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1964 album '' All Summer Long''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the autobiographical lyrics describe the group's reaction to their newfound f ...

" and "

Keep Ya Head Up "Keep Ya Head Up" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second studio album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993). It was released on October 28, 1993 by Interscope Records as the album's third single, peaking at numbers 12 and 13 on the ...

". In November, while in New York shooting the film ''

Above the Rim ''Above the Rim'' is a 1994 American sports drama film co-written and directed by Jeff Pollack in his directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Barry Michael Cooper, adapted from a story by Benny Medina. The film stars Duane Martin, ...

'', he frequently socialized with underworld boss Jacques " Haitian Jack" Agnant.Kevin Powell, interviewer, "Vibe Q: Tupac Shakur: Ready to live", ''Vibe'', 1995 Apr;3(3):50–55, republished a
"Revisit Tupac's April 1995 cover story: 'Ready to live' "
''Vibe.com'', Vibe Media, LLC, 14 Feb 2021. In the print magazine's table of contents, leading the list of "features" is this entry, prefaced, "Tupac says Thug Life is dead and that his new album may be his last, but he's pulling no punches in this exclusive prison interview." In any case, the transcript uses the alias ''Nigel'' for Jacques " Haitian Jack" Agnant and the alias ''Booker'' for James " Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond.Ben Westoff
"How Tupac and Biggie went from friends to deadly rivals"
''Noisey'',

Vice.com ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company V ...

, 12 Sep 2016. Brooklyn boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

advised Tupac,Tayannah Lee McQuillar & Fred L. Johnson III, ''Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon'' (Philadelphia:

, 2010), p
148

149
"I think you're out of your league." Tupac's first Rolex purchase was to enter Agnant's circle. Biggie recalled being present at the purchase, but Tupac reportedly favored company wealthier than Biggie,The Blackspot, "Stakes is high", ''

'', 1996 Sep;4(7):100–104
p 103
who warned him to avoid Agnant. Tupac, regarding Agnant as a friend, reportedly told him of the advice, causing Biggie to receive backlash from Agnant's circle. In June 1996, Biggie reflected, "There's shit that motherfuckers don't know. I saw the situation and how shit was going, and I tried to school the nigga."The Blackspot, "Stakes is high", ''

'', 1996 Sep;4(7):100–104
p 103
quoting Biggie, about Tupac, in a continuous block: "He can't front of me. As much as he may come off as a Biggie hater, he knows. He knows when all that shit was going down, I was schooling a nigga to certain things, me and Stretch—God bless the grave. But he chose to do the things he wanted to do. There wasn't nothing I could do, but it wasn't like he wasn't my man." "He knows when all that shit was going down, I was schooling a nigga to certain things, me and Stretch—God bless the grave." Stretch died in an unsolved shooting on November 30, 1995.Charisse Jones

''New York Times'', 1 Dec 1995. In 2006, Derrick Parker, reputedly the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

's "first hip-hop cop", glibly suggested a role by Tupac in Stretch's murder [Derrick Parker w/ Matt Diehl, ''Notorious C.O.P.'' (New York:

, 2006)
p 113
By contrast, John Potash
"Tupac's Panther shadow: The political targeting of Tupac Shakur"
''CovertAction Quarterly'', 1999;67:11–15, proposes, "One less publicized aspect of Shakur's high-profile life was that his mother and extended family were leading Black Panther figures of the 1960s and 1970s. Research on FBI monitoring of Shakur from his early adolescence reflects patterns of police surveillance, evidence of government ties to some of his associates, suspicious deaths of people connected to him, and mainstream media's misinformation about Shakur's political activism
p 11
Parker confirmed that New York City police had been surveilling Tupac's family since the 1970s [Parker w/ Matt Diehl, ''Notorious C.O.P.'', 2006, p
108

109
"But he," Biggie said of Tupac, "chose to do the things he wanted to do. There wasn't nothing I could do. But it wasn't like he wasn't my man." By the time of the nonfatal shooting of Tupac on November 30, 1994, he and Biggie, as varying retrospective sources allege, were either simply still "friends,"Candace Sandy & Dawn Marie Daniels, ''How Long Will They Mourn Me?: The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur'' (New York: One World Books/Random House, 2006)
p 54
on Tupac's earlier music alliance with Biggie
pp 53–55
outlining the robbery/shooting once Tupac arrived with Stretch, Stretch's manager Freddie "Nickels" Moore, and Tupac's halfsister Sekyiwa Shakur's boyfriend Zayd. had sustained "smaller kerfuffles,"Rachel Chang
"How Biggie and Tupac went from friends to music's biggest rivals"
''Biography.com'', A&E Television Networks, LLC, 12 Sep 2019, updated 19 May 2020. or, per street rumors, "had a war brewing."Derrick Parker with Matt Diehl, ''Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's first "Hip-Hop Cop"'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006)
pp 111–112

1994 shooting

Tupac recalled Jacques " Haitian Jack" Agnant introducing him to James " Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, who recalled instead introducing Tupac to Agnant. Ethan Brown, ''Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler'' (New York:

Anchor Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

/Random House, 2005), p
123
��126. Both fearsome in New York City's criminal underworld, Agnant and Rosemond were managers and promoters reputed to extort and rob disfavored music artists. On November 29, 1994,Some sources, even a ''

'' article on James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, indicate that Rosemond contacted Tupac to book him on November 30, 1994 [E Brown, The score", ''Vibe'', 2005 Dec;12(14
220
Yet the robbery occurred ''on'' November 30 at about 12:25 AM

, ''New York Times'', 30 Nov 1994, §B, p 2]. And Tupac recalled, "the night of the shooting", "I got a page from this guy Booker"—''Vibe'''s 1995 alias for Rosemond—"telling me he wanted me to rap on

's record" [K Powell, ''Vibe'', 1995 Apr;3(4
52
Rosemond recalled the same, initially agreeing to meet at 8 PM, and ultimately being at the studio at least a couple of hours before Tupac arrived [Brown, ''Vibe'' 12(14):220]. Rosemond hired Tupac to record at Quad Recording Studios with his client

, rapper, Uptown Records, and record producer

Bryce Wilson Bryce Wilson (born October 7, 1972) is an American record producer, entrepreneur and actor. He was one half of the 1990s duo Groove Theory, and a former member of the dance/ electro hip-hop group Mantronix. Mantronix MC and keyboardist Foll ...

.Jayson Rodriquez
"Game manager Jimmy Rosemond recalls events the night Tupac was shot, says session was 'all business' "
''

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

'', MTV.com, 31 Mar 2008.Jamil Lindsey, interviewer, "

: The night Tupac was shot at Quad Studio &

Groove Theory Groove Theory was an American R&B duo, with former member, singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux and songwriter/producer/actor, Bryce Wilson. The group is best known for their 1995 hit "Tell Me (Groove Theory song), Tell Me", which reached the top fiv ...

's smash hit '

Tell Me Tell Me may refer to: * ''Tell Me...'', a 1979 album by Jimmy Knepper * Tell me (advertisement), a 2005 Chinese-language newspaper ad calling for universal suffrage in Hong Kong * Tell Me (TV series), ''Tell Me'' (TV series), a 2019 South Korean qu ...

' ", ''The Real Gully TV'' @ YouTube, 14 Mar 2020, wherei
08:15
begins Wilson's discussion of working with James " Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond an
09:43
begins Wilson's account of events in the studio that night. Tupac, amid "major beef" with Agnant, and confronted by Rosemond for it on November 25, was leery. Present was Uptown's boss

, summoned by Rosemond.Ethan Brown, "The score", ''Vibe'', 2005 Dec;12(14):182�
187
220–222
p 220
Rosemond recalled "plenty of people." Tupac recalled "about 40." Little Shawn, as if "everybody must have known this cat was coming," recalled it "like a fucking party." Puffy, hanging out, recalled nearby filming for the "Warning" music video, then going to visit Biggie on a higher of Quad's five floors, but getting sidetracked on this floor, Quad's required reception stop.Accounts of Biggie's whereabouts when Tupac arrived upstairs vary. For instance, a 2005 account writes, "The final humiliation, Shakur said, was taking the elevator upstairs only to find Rosemond, Sean 'Puffy' Combs, and Biggie waiting for him. 'All of them had jewels on,' Shakur explained to ''Vibe'', 'more jewels than mine.' " [ Ethan Brown, ''Queens Reigns Supreme'' (New York:

/Random House, 2005), p 126
/nowiki> ]. In ''Vibe'''s transcript of the January 1995 interview, Tupac more exactly said, "When we got upstairs, I looked around, and it scared the shit out of me"; the interviewer then asked, "Why?"; Tupac replied, "Because Andre Harrell was there, Puffy was there, Biggie... there was about 40 niggas there" [Kevin Powell, interviewer, "Vibe Q: Tupac Shakur", ''Vibe'', 1995 Apr;3(3):50–55, republished a
"Revisit Tupac's April 1995 cover story: 'Ready to live' "
''Vibe.com'', 14 Feb 2021]. The ellipses, immediately after ''Biggie'', are both in the 2021 republication online and in the original print article [Powell, ''Vibe'' 3(3
53
Discrepantly, a 2006 account writes, "Quad Studios occupies five floors of the Midtown office building, so at any given time there can be a number of artists working on different projects. That night was no different. Little Shawn was recording on one floor, Biggie Smalls's group Junior M.A.F.I.A. was recording on another floor, while Biggie and Sean 'Puffy' Combs were working on a video on a third" [Candace Sandy & Dawn Marie Daniels, ''How Long Will They Mourn Me?'' (New York: One World Books/Random House, 2006)
p 53
By contrast, Puffy himself recalled shooting Biggie's "Warning" music video elsewhere, merely near Quad studios, and without Biggie, but learning of Biggie's proximity through "one of the Bad Boy staff members on his way to Biggie's session. I knew that Biggie had a session with Junior Mafia, but I didn't know it was right around the corner. So I'm going to check B.I.G., you know what I'm saying? When I get off the elevator at Quad, you have to stop in a reception area, and there's this Little Shawn session with Andre. So I stopped to say 'What's up?' to them. I'm about to go up to Biggie's session when Pac comes out the elevator and he's shot up" [

, interviewer, "Mail: Tupac Shakur", ''Vibe'', 1995 Aug;3(6):25–29, p 27
/nowiki> ]. Biggie recalled, "I had a session with the Junior Mafia at Quad Studios." "Next thing you know, everybody was like, 'Yo, 'Pac just got shot.' So I'm on my way downstairs, no gat, to see what's up with my man." "I get downstairs and everything's on some lockdown shit." "Immediately, police thought everybody in the studio was on the same floor where everything was supposed to have happened at. I saw 'Pac get out on a stretcher, but when he actually came out from the elevator, I wasn't even there." [
25
/ref> Biggie, although sometimes reportedly with Puffy, Harrell, and Rosemond when Tupac arrived upstairs, was instead on a higher floor recording with his own rap group,

Near 12:30 AM, Tupac, Stretch, and two other men entered the building lobby, where Tupac was shot resisting successful robbery of $40 000 of jewelry.The robbery occurred on November 30, 1994, at about 12:25 AM, as Tupac Shakur entered the building lobby of Quad Recording Studios, 723 Seventh Ave, near West 48th Street
Rap artist Tupac Shakur shot in robbery
, ''New York Times'', 30 Nov 1994, §B, p 2]. Further reporting includes Malcolm Gladwell
"Rapper Tupac Shakur robbed, shot in N.Y."
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', 1 Dec 1994, and especially James Barron
"After day as defendant, rapper becomes victim"
''New York Times'', 1 Dec 1994, §B, p 3. Stretch's manager, Freddie "Nickels" Moore, was nonfatally shot in the abdomen, "but that," Tupac later said, "was the bullet that went through my leg." Once upstairs, Tupac instantly blamed Rosemond, and later grew convinced of his guilt.Ethan Brown, "The score", ''Vibe'', 2005 Dec;12(14):182�
187
220–222
p 221
Vladislav "

DJ Vlad DJ Vlad (born Vladislav Lyubovny, June 28, 1973) is a Ukrainian-American interviewer, journalist, and former DJ. He is the creator of the news website ''VladTV.com''. His namesake YouTube channel hosts interviews of prominent entertainers and cel ...

" Lyubovny, interviewer, Mutah "

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

" Beale, interviewee
"Flashback: Napoleon (Outlawz) on Jimmy Henchman threatening 2Pac"
''VladTV–DJVlad'' "Verified" channel @ YouTube, 12 Nov 2018. Tupac would ultimately question lobby events as to Stretch, others' reactions upstairs,The Blackspot, "Stakes is high", ''

'', 1996 Sep;4(7):100–104
p 100
and "Who Shot Ya" release.Interview of Mutah "

" Beale
"Why would Biggie drop 'Who Shot Ya' after 2Pac got shot? Jimmy Henchman set up 2Pac not Haitian Jack"
''The Art of Dialogue'' "Verified" channel @ YouTube, 4 Jul 2021: time mar
01:15
raises the question of whether Tupac shot himself, an
09:25
raises the issue of "Who Shot Ya" release. In response, Tupac would eventually record "

," assailing Biggie and Puffy, whereas "Against All Odds," released posthumously, assails Agnant and Rosemond for setting him up.Rob Marriot, interviewer, "Last testament: Tupac speaks", ''Vibe'', 1996 Nov;4(9):78�
79
By then or eventually, each complained about Tupac's airing names and gripes in the media and allegedly fostering cinematic drama in his own life.''Vibe'''s August 1995 edition quotes Biggie saying, in part, "When I read the interview, I felt like he was just shitting on everybody. I always said that he was the realest nigga in the game. I don't know what he was trying to hide, or if he was scared. I figured that with the shit he was talking in ''Vibe'', he was just confused more than anything. You get shot and then you go to jail for something you ain't even do—that could twist a nigga's mind up" [3(6
25
Biggie continues, "And then the story just ''completely'' got switched around: niggas saying ''I'' set him up and ''I'm'' the one that got him shot. They're saying that my record 'Who Shot Ya?' is about him. That shit is crazy. That song was finished way before Tupac got shot. Niggas was taking little pieces of the song and trying to add it to the story, and that shit is crazy" [3(6
25
The publication withholds other of Biggie's comments that the interviewer,

, shared about 22 years later in a third-party documentary, ''Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?'' (USA: Critical Content, 2017). This is excerpted a
"Ice-T & Soledad listen to the Biggie interview about the Quad shooting"
''Fox'' "Verified" channel @ YouTube,

Fox Entertainment Fox Entertainment is an American entertainment company owned by Fox Corporation known for television production and distribution. The company was formed in 2019 after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, with offices in ...

, 22 Sep 2017, a video clip whose audio apparently itself stitches snippets of Biggie talking: "It went like this, you know what I'm saying. I was upstairs at Quad. We in the back, chilling. Next thing, we hearing, 'Yo, Tupac got shot.' He said that I set him up. Man, that is shit is crazy. I don't know what he was trying to hide, or if he was scared. I don't know what was going on in that nigga's head. But I want an apology, especially when I found out what really went down: that he shot himself, that he ain't really get shot in his head: he got pistol-whipped. You know what I'm saying? And I'm hearing all this, and I'm like, 'Damn.' I think the nigga was just getting a little bit too happy with this situation, trying to make movies. Everything was a movie to him."Interviewed for a 2017 documentary, Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant acknowledged that Tupac's comments reported in the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' led to the November 1994 setup of Tupac at Quad Recording Studios, but indicated that he himself had earlier issued word to not retaliate, whereas one of his own associates, allegedly rogue, called immediately after the attack to claim credit for it nowiki/>Soledad O'Brien & Ice-T">Soledad_O'Brien.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Soledad O'Brien">nowiki/>Soledad O'Brien & Ice-T, interviewers, "Haitian Jack", interviewee, ''Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?'' (USA: Critical Content, 2017), originally aired 24 Sep 2017, Fox network,

. This alleged associate is rumored to be James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond [Rocko Rathon, "Haitian Jack speaks on 1994 Tupac Shakur shooting, insinuates Jimmy Henchman's involvement
/nowiki>", ''TheSource.com'', Source Digital, Inc., 6 Feb 2015].

Key accusations

For a November 1993 incident in his Le Parker Meridien, Midtown Manhattan hotel suite,Candace Sandy & Dawn Marie Daniels, ''How Long Will They Mourn Me?: The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur'' (New York: One World Books/

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, 2006), indexin
"Haitian Jack"
returning p
40

60
also indexing his alias
Nigel
. Tupac Shakur's November 1994 trial led to December 1 conviction of sexual abuse, first degree, for groping.For a November 18, 1993, incident in his hotel suite
Rapper 2 pac charged with sex attack"
''

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

'', 19 Nov 1993], Tupac Shakur was tried across the latter three weeks of November 1994, and convicted of first-degree sexual abuse, by groping the woman's buttocks, on December 1, 1994 [R. Perez-Pena
"Wounded rapper gets mixed verdict in sex-abuse case"
''New York Times'', 2 Dec 1994, § A, p 1]. On February 7, 1995, Shakur's

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

eligibility was discarded for a prison sentence: up to 4.5 years, at least 18 months before

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

[George James
"Rapper faces prison term for sex abuse"
''New York Times'', 8 Feb 1995, § B, p 1]. On February 7, 1995, denied

, he received prison—four years and six months—parole eligibility in 18 months. A January 1995

Kevin Powell Kevin Powell (born April 24, 1966) is an American writer, activist, and television personality. He is the author of 14 books, including ''The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey into Manhood'' and ''When We Free the World'' published in ...

did three major interviews of Tupac. The first was for a Tupac cover story, "This thug's life", in ''Vibe'''s March 1994 issue [Powell, "Tupac Shakur", in Vibe Street Lit, ''The Vibe Q: Raw and Uncut'' (New York:

, 2007), p
99

100
"The second interview, conducted behind bars on Rikers Island, was published as a Q&A in April 1995", in ''Vibe'', but occurred in January 1995 'Ibid''. The third interview, by telephone with Tupac in Los Angeles at Death Row Records, yielded excerpts in a sidebar within a Death Row cover story, "Live from Death Row", in the February 1996 issue 'Ibid''. Having occurred on December 2, 1995, this third interview was first published as a "full transcript" by Vibe Media Group in 2007 224

225
jailhouse interview of Tupac—disavowing his own "Thug Life (band)">Thug Life" ethos, vowing only directly positive acts, and leery at conduct by Stretch during and by others upstairs after the November 1994 shooting—appeared in ''

s April issue. It, allegedly, "accused" Biggie and "blamed" Puffy,Sue Bradford Edwards
ch 4 "Friends and enemies"
pp 34–43, ''The Murders of Tupac and Biggie'' (Minneapolis, MN: Abdo Publishing, 2020), writes, in part, "''Vibe'' editors would later admit tha
their April 1995 issue
was the first inkling that Smalls had that Shakur blamed him and Combs for the Quad shooting. Shakur accused Smalls in the magazine, and reporters did not ask for a comment from Smalls to allow him to defend himself in the same issue. Some journalism experts blame ''Vibe'' for the split between the rappers"
p 39
]. (Edwards provides no source for ''Vibe'''s admission.) In any case, ''Vibe'''s August issue, addressing the topic without specifying Biggie ''per se'', prefaced, "Several of the people mentioned in the interview were contacted before the story was published but declined to comment at the time. After the interview appeared, they contacted ''Vibe'', wanting to respond to what they felt were misconceptions that arose from some of Tupac's statements and descriptions. Here are some excerpts from their replies, as told to Fab 5 Freddy."
"Mail: Tupac Shakur"
''Vibe'', 1995 Aug;3(6):25–29]. Biggie's reply, alleged, in part, "When I read the interview, I felt like he was just shitting on everybody", but "then the story just got ''completely'' switched around" via "niggas saying ''I'' set him up and ''I'm'' the one that got him shot. They're saying that my record 'Who Shot Ya?' is about him"
p 25
]. Puffy meanwhile replied, in part, "He got a lot of people in a lot of bullshit with that interview. The way it was written, it was open-ended, like me and B.I.G. and Andre Harrell, Andre had something to do with it"
p 27
]. or "implicates" them and

. Puffy called it, instead, "open-ended, like me and Big and Andre had something to do with" the attack, a main topic via "Who Shot Ya" when New York radio station

interviewed Biggie. Replying in ''Vibe'''s August issue, rather, each party but Stretch and Biggie recalled the injured Tupac acting like a movie role. James " Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond further called Tupac a "coward" who tried "street" ways but failed "the test" and was, "hysterically, talking about, '''Call the police''.' " Puffy spoke of empathy and hope his "Thug Life" ethos "is really over," but added, "if you gonna be a motherfuckin' thug, you gots to live and die a thug." Tupac was, Biggie estimated, "the realest nigga in the game," but, recently assailed severely, "was just confused," maybe seeking cover or shelter by the interview, "just shitting on everybody." "And then," Biggie added, "the story just ''completely'' got switched around: niggas saying ''I'' set him up and ''I'm'' the one that got him shot. They're saying that my record 'Who Shot Ya?' is about him." "Niggas was taking little pieces of the song and trying to add it to the story, and that shit is crazy." Stretch called Tupac "my man," but demanded he "recognize what the fuck he's doing"—"telling niggas' names and all that shit" in "the media"—breaking a "street" "rule that's never to be broken." On November 6, 1994, at a nightclub with a Bullet (1996 film), recent movie

costar CoStar Group, Inc. is an American provider of information, analytics, and marketing services to the commercial property industry in North America and Europe. Founded in 1987 by Andrew C. Florance and based in Arlington, Virginia, the company has ...

, Tupac met gossip columnist A J Benza, whereby New York's '' Daily News'' reported Tupac's viewing his own former codefendant Jacques " Haitian Jack" Agnant as a "hanger-on," maybe a government informant, who caused the rape and gun case. Connie Bruck
"The takedown of Tupac"
''NewYorker.com'', 30 Jun 1997 & ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', 1997 Jul 7;73(3759). Street gossip then foresaw attack on Tupac. Rosemond, angered, would call the November 30 attack "discipline,"Ethan Brown, "The score", ''Vibe'', 2005 Dec;12(14):182–187,220–222
p 221
interviews James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, who recalls being in Los Angeles with "some Crip dudes" at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...

, a restaurant featuring live music, in December 1995 and confronting Tupac. Henchman recalls uttering, "Dude, you gotta stop telling people that shit. For real, nigga, I don't give a fuck—it could go down right now. Why you blaming Puffy and Biggie? Them niggas ain't got nothing to do with this." Henchman recalls asserting, "Nobody came to rob you. They came to discipline you. That's what happened." Henchman recalls Marion "Suge" Knight, as CEO of Tupac's new record label,

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. D ...

, looking over and asking, " 'Pac, everything all right?" But Henchman assesses, " 'Pac knew better than to tell him that something was wrong, because I was so angry." (The "discipline" is reputedly for talking to a reporter about Haitian Jack "Pit of snakes"
''XXL.com'', 16 Sep 2011/'' XXL'' issue Sep 2011">XXL (magazine)">XXL'' issue Sep 2011) but reassert innocence. Agnant eventually recounted issuing order to ''not'' attack Tupac, but a then close ally, angered by the newspaper story, "''especially in'' New York City," setting up this attack, anyway. Widely viewed as its mastermind, Rosemond alleged that Tupac, being theatrical, "makes a situation to sell records," and recalled ordering Tupac to stop blaming Biggie and Puffy, who "ain't got nothing to do with this." Puffy, citing Tupac's deeming the gunmen's identifies open knowledge on the street, called himself and Biggie "scapegoats." Reportedly, New York police had within the Bad Boy or Uptown label a

confidential informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

who named Biggie as the attack's contractor, but government misinformation is possible. Tupac heard street word that Biggie simply withheld warning of it. Rosemond, disputing the storied five gunshot wounds, asserted Stretch's recount of only one gunshot, when a robber's grabbing Tupac's hand, trying to draw the gun, discharged it.

recalls this a consensus—whereby

cites gunpowder on Tupac's boxers—a variant question of who shot him. Biggie called him, in ''Vibe'''s August 1995 issue, "just confused more than anything. You get shot and then you go to jail for something you ain't even do. That could twist a nigga's mind up." But as ''Vibe'''s excerpt omitted, Biggie also expressed appall at, he said, "what really went down": pistol-whipping and self-inflicted gunshot but, then, "just getting a little bit too happy with the situation, trying to make movies. Everything was a movie to him."

Enduring debate

Biggie consistently disputed that "Who Shot Ya" targeted Tupac. Still, some call it a

, if "subliminal."XXL staff
"8 subliminal diss records that no one claims"
''XXLMag.com'', ''XXL'' Mag, Townsquare Media, Inc. 5 Nov 2010. Biggie recorded his lyrics "months" before Tupac was shot in November 1994, but Puffy removed the song from Biggie's album, released in September 1994. On both the mixtape track and the B side, however, Puffy shouts, "9-5." Naima Cochrane, who "went on to work at Bad Boy" after working at a law firm that "represented the full roster of producers" at Bad Boy, judges, " 'Who Shot Ya' sounds exactly like a track that accidentally launched rap's biggest feud between Biggie and Tupac." In 2009, the biographical film '' Notorious'' was released, and Rahman Dukes, who with coworkers had done research for it, announced, "Biggie himself clears up 'Who Shot Ya' misunderstanding."Rahman Dukes & MTV News staff
"Biggie himself clears up 'Who Shot Ya' misunderstanding in this long-lost freestyle"
''MTV.com'',

, 7 Jan 2009. (The article's embedded audio file may have been subsequently removed.) Dukes prefaces that

, who was Biggie's main rap buddy, as well as DJ

Mister Cee Calvin LeBrun (August 17, 1966 – April 10, 2024), known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, was an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality. He guest appeared on Big Daddy Kane's 1988 debut album '' Long ...

, who had discovered Biggie, denied it as a Tupac taunt. Dukes adds, "Hell, even Diddy"—formerly Puffy—"shot down those claims." Dukes asserts, "Only the late, great B.I.G. could clear matters up, but we all know that's not possible." Dukes reports a "long-lost freestyle" with "a few bars," "a bit of hard-core evidence," but leaves it for listeners to judge. On the other hand, in 2010, rap magazine ''XXL'' assessed "8 subliminal diss records" and appraised, " 'Who Shot Ya?' remains highly contested, but the lyrics to 'Long Kiss Good Night' were even more direct." "In the April 2003 issue of ''XXL'', Lil' Cease confirms the record was aimed at 'Pac, while Puff contends that 'If Biggie was going to do a song about 2Pac, he would have just come out with it and said his name.' " Released posthumously, "Long Kiss Goodnight" itself features Puffy's ''

ad lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...

'' disclaimer—''And we ain't talking about no other rap niggas''—but this song, nonetheless, "was definitely about 'Pac, no 2 ways about it," concludes ''XXL'' by citing other lyrics.'' XXL'' quotes from "Long Kiss Goodnight" the following lyrics: "When my men bust, you just move with such stamina / Slugs missed you, I ain't mad at cha (we ain't mad at cha)." "Slugs hit your chest, tapped the spine, flat-line / Heard through the grapevine you got fucked four times" [XXL staff
"8 subliminal diss records that no one claims"
''XXLMag.com'', 5 Nov 2010]. On March 1, 1997, about six months after the fatal shooting of Tupac in September 1996, but eight days before his own murder, Biggie was a guest on a Los Angeles radio station and rapped lines from the song, including the above lyrics. For details, see Michael Blair
"One of Biggie's final radio appearances is a moment that can never be tuned out (video)"
''AmbrosiaForHeads.com'', 26 Jul 2018. For discussion, see an interview of Mutah "

" Beale
"Biggie Smalls brought his death on himself! You don't wait for 2Pac to die, then start dissing him!"
''The Art of Dialogue'' "Verified" channel @ YouTube, 31 Oct 2021. ''XXL'' meanwhile estimated about "Who Shot Ya?" that "the timing of its release and the perceived subliminal shots"—including allegedly "telling lyrics" in Biggie's second verse, new in the single—"lead us to believe that this was most likely a diss record." In 2014, however, Bad Boy staff producer

, key in ''

'' production, and witness to "Who Shot Ya" production, asserted, "I still have that recording with me today, and him saying that phrase had absolutely nothing to do with Tupac." Nashiem Myrick, the song's main producer, asserted, "We have no reason, no motive, at all, to have set 'Pac up. What's the motive? What's the issue? It's no issue. So, nah." In August 2022, former Bad Boy Records president Kirk Burrowes stated that while Biggie may not have intended "Who Shot Ya?" as a diss towards Tupac, in hopes of gaining more success, Combs marketed the song so that it would be interpreted as one."Art of Dialogue" channel @ YouTube, 21 Aug 2022, '“Who Shot Ya” Was Meant For 2Pac. Puffy Wanted To Aggravate 2Pac. He Wanted To Send A Message To Him'

,

Certifications

Releases

*''

'' (Remaster edition) *''

'' *'' Greatest Hits (The Notorious B.I.G. album), Greatest Hits'' *"

" 12" single

Notes

{{Authority control The Notorious B.I.G. songs 1994 songs Songs written by the Notorious B.I.G. Gangsta rap songs 1995 controversies in the United States Music controversies East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry