Jay-Z’s Longtime Producer Believed There Would’ve Been No Coming Back for Tupac After Hov’s ‘Scathing’ Diss
As some know, Jay-Z and Tupac Shakur weren’t exactly on good terms before his untimely death. Tupac let it be known that he wasn’t fond of the rapper. But by the time Jay-Z recorded his own diss track towards Tupac, Tupac was fatally shot. A longtime producer, however, who heard the record, claimed that if Tupac had lived, Jay-Z would’ve jeopardized Tupac’s career with his ‘scathing’ record.
Why did Tupac diss Jay-Z?
Tupac’s issue with Jay-Z was a byproduct of his well-known conflict with Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls. According to NME, hip-hop producer Irv Gotti spoke to another rap star in Fat Joe about the drama on Instagram. There, Gotti provided a little bit of insight behind Tupac’s motivations for going after Hov.
“That’s why Pac was s****** on Jay, because of ‘Brooklyn’s Finest,’” Gotti said.
“Brooklyn’s Finest” was a record that both Smalls and Jay-Z collaborated on in the middle of Smalls’ feud with Tupac. Tupac noticed the collaboration and took offense.
“Jay’s on the record with him now so he’s like, ‘F*** you,’” Gotti continued. “And he starts bombing on Jay.”
Jay-Z’s longtime producer claimed there would have been no coming back for Tupac after this diss record
As some know, Jay-Z was gearing up to release a diss track to Tupac back in the 90s. But before Jay could release his attack, the rapper died from injuries resulting from multiple gunshots. One of Jay-Z’s longtime collaborators, DJ Clark Kent, was one of the few people who heard the diss track. But he not only just listened to it.
“We performed it, though at the Apollo,” Kent told the podcast A Waste of Time With ItsTheReal (via Billboard.) “The chip on Jay’s shoulder is so crazy that he had to perform it.”
Kent also asserted that Jay-Z didn’t pull any punches on his song. So much so that Pac’s career might not have survived the record.
“It was scathing, like crowds were like, ‘Oh, s***!’” he said. “If he was alive, there would’ve been no coming back. This was so tough. To me, it probably was one of the hardest diss records I’ve ever heard.”
Kent could’ve gotten his hands on the diss track if he’d really wanted to. But he opted against it.
“I didn’t want a copy,” he revealed. “Because I knew I would have been compelled to find a way to play it.”
Jay-Z once allegedly told Nas that Tupac and DMX weren’t lyricists
Tupac wasn’t the only rapper Jay-Z had problems with. As many know, Jay-Z also had a conflict with fellow New York rapper Nas. So in their earlier years, Nas took the time to spill some information he had on the Brooklyn artist. Particularly, he decided to spill the beans on Jay-Z’s feelings towards other rappers.
“He [Jay-Z] said that Tupac and DMX were not lyricists,” Nas told Felon (via Vibe ). “I told him that I disagreed with him—that Tupac was the greatest ever—period, and that DMX really brought that street s*** back into the game.”
