Tupac was never afraid to speak his mind on the state of the music industry and the world at large. All of his interviews consist of him passionately and eloquently expressing his thoughts and concerns about everything around him. This ramped up especially during the infamous beef between the East and West Coasts. Pac became an ambassador for the West when he signed with Suge Knight and Death Row.
However, Tupac slowly came to feel that the media was blowing things out of proportion in his beef with Biggie, Diddy, and Bad Boy. Sure, there were some ugly disses back and forth on records like “Hit ‘Em Up”. Moreover, Pac was especially thorny towards everyone from the Fugees to De La Soul, groups that do not engage in beef like that, all due to misunderstandings. But given the fact that both of them eventually died due to gun violence, Pac wasn’t that far off in his criticisms.
All of it ominously culminated in a 1996 interview with MTV three days before Tupac’s tragic death. Pac, alongside Snoop Dogg, argued that journalists and media outlets played a pivotal role in amplifying the beef into violent territories. Frankly, if the issues were that serious, they wouldn’t have shown up to the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards like Biggie and Diddy.
Tupac Reflects On The State of Media and The Music Industry Days Before His Death
“Even if we saw them, we are businessmen, we are not animals. It’s not like we’re gonna see them and rush them, jump on them. If they see us and they want the drama, we’re gonna definitely bring it like only Death Row could bring it. But we’re here as businessmen to enjoy and support the video and music awards for MTV ’cause they support us. If they want to come and use this business opportunity to get on some gangsta, we do that better than anybody,” Tupac said.
Then, the interviewer wondered if the issues would ever cease between the two sides. Immediately, Pac shuts down the notion. “There’s no dream of making an album with Biggie and Puffy, or none of them. We peacefully coexist right now ’cause we’re all cool. Everybody’s here, they sell records, we sell records… There’s no competition. People really making too much out of it than it is,” Tupac continued. “The East Coast-West Coast thing is something that the journalists and the people are making just to get paid off of it, so it can drag out. They’re perpetuating it so it could be drama.”
By the end of it, Tupac wished for a resolution where everyone could operate in their own space and the media wouldn’t keep pumping out more narratives about the beef. “We’ll try to be better role models. Y’all try to stop putting that drama out there. You got a lot of power, a lot of responsibility. We both do. We both need to exercise greater strength,” Pac ended.
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