You can't fit 2023 elements into the past. I love these debates.
I was around in real time and had the privilege of listening to rap music so young, due to my brothers, uncles, and older friends.
Kids/teens in 1993 wasn't sitting around all willy nilly listening to this kind of music. If you didn't have brothers, and also, if you weren't in either the lower black class, or lower middle-class sector, you in real time wasn't listening to this shyt.
MTV, BET, The Box and the radio stations, were your heavy outlets.
Snoop held the spot from 92 (G-Thang,) as a matter of fact, that Winter of 92, that's when the single dropped, all the way from 92 up until the last single off Doggy Dog World which was 1994. He was the bigger star, due to the mega singles he was on.
Keep in mind, shyt wasn't being dropped like shyt is being dropped today. Snoop had the whole world trying to grow Afros.
2pac wasn't as big as Snoop on the music side in 92-94 in this time frame Pac dropped Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z which had the single "keep your head up" and "I get around" and "holla if you hear me" These singles were not bigger than "Gin and Juice" and Snoop's other's single.
Snoop's debut album was the most anticipated album to come out EVER at the time. 2pac single were good, no shade on those singles, but the fans anticipation for Snoop's debut album was insane.
Here's the twist, 2pac also starred in 3 "black" movies, which kept his persona in the "youth" space. 3 really good movies, with Above The Rim being the one to push him forward. His work on that soundtrack, now had folks wanting to hear more music from him. His antics in the news and his interviews were getting folks attention. He was getting attention as this untouchable person per say (in real time) some folks looked at him as a joke.
So now he's getting the attention from everyone, older black folks, white folks, the youth (from the movies) the ladies, Poetic Justice. He's still not on Snoop's level. Not in that 92–94-time frame. Nobody was seein Snoop
Snoop's done with his album in 94 (no more singles/videos), now he's back in the lab, it usually took a rapper a year and a half to drop another album, he's out of sight per say, pen. The antics from Pac picks up. He's shot 5 times in November 94.
But the shine/throne shifts off of Snoop and goes to Biggie, Biggie kills the 4th quarter of 94. This what folks don't talk about. This is how 2pac came in the space. 2pac is shot 5 times in November 94
95 comes around, NOW Pac is in your face, from the news outlets, interviews. His trial is going on in 95, MTV reporting on it because 2pac is in the news, he just got shot 5 times and he made it out alive and in court (folks thought this was some fake shyt in real time) but as you can imagine, it's a wild time frame from Nov 94 - Feb 95 I wish I can find it, but 2pac was on a talk show with a bullet proof vest on talking shyt about the folks who shot him. I can't remember when this was, but I remember hearing about this interview and folk were saying he was going off. I don't know if it was Ricky Lake, Arsenio, I jus remember hearing about it and that he had on a white bullet proof vest. (I was sleep in bed, had a bed time lol) It was a late night talk show I wanna say.
Now you have 2pac and rumors being talked about, Pac gets sentenced in Feb 95, 2pac drops "Dear Mama" shyt takes the fukk off. Bad Boy still running shyt, they just had too much ammo at that time, so Biggie and them are running shyt. Pac had some good singles, but he's in prison now, he still had the number 1 album, that single was so pressure. It played throughout that summer 95. One of the songs from MATW was in one of the biggest movies of that summer "Bad Boys" So Many Tears comes out that summer of 95, not quite a chart rocker, but it's a solid single, I appreciate it much more as I got older and understood the lyics.
Pac is chilling, you don't hear from him, other than the rumors, they were saying he got raped in jail with a mop handle, I remember that rumor,
So I guess, the Vibe magazine drops with Puffy and Biggie and shyt goes up. Word gets back to PAc and he's sending word back home asking about who set him up.
The Source Award is where the shift happens in August, Suge makes his statement, everybody is looking at Bad Boy funny now.
Rumors are now starting to hit the average fan about Pac's robbery (Snoop drops New York New York) At that time, Bad Boy running shyt, Snoop is not on top but he's still a big dog.
Also in 95, Snoop has nothing really on the air waves but the diss song to NYC with the Dogg Pound which came out in September, Bone Thugs is taken that secondary spot and Bad Boy is running shyt.
December 95 comes and 2pac drops, California Love and now 2pac is on the level or even pass that level where Snoop and Biggie were when they were on top.
The height of Snoop Dog and Biggie combine doesn't come close to Pac's shyt when he got out in 95 and California Love Dropped
I can say this, and folks may disagree, but Pac gave Snoop a fresh air with 2 of America's Most Wanted. I'm not saying folks weren't checking for Snoop but 2pac at the time took up so much stardom, it felt as Snoop wasn't even on DR. You can say Snoop was dealing with the murder trial, true indeed, but 2pac was a different cat when he surpassed everybody.
R.Kelly wanted to do a Best of Both Worlds Album. Quincy Jones wanted to put that together.
I was around in real time and had the privilege of listening to rap music so young, due to my brothers, uncles, and older friends.
Kids/teens in 1993 wasn't sitting around all willy nilly listening to this kind of music. If you didn't have brothers, and also, if you weren't in either the lower black class, or lower middle-class sector, you in real time wasn't listening to this shyt.
MTV, BET, The Box and the radio stations, were your heavy outlets.
Snoop held the spot from 92 (G-Thang,) as a matter of fact, that Winter of 92, that's when the single dropped, all the way from 92 up until the last single off Doggy Dog World which was 1994. He was the bigger star, due to the mega singles he was on.
Keep in mind, shyt wasn't being dropped like shyt is being dropped today. Snoop had the whole world trying to grow Afros.
2pac wasn't as big as Snoop on the music side in 92-94 in this time frame Pac dropped Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z which had the single "keep your head up" and "I get around" and "holla if you hear me" These singles were not bigger than "Gin and Juice" and Snoop's other's single.
Snoop's debut album was the most anticipated album to come out EVER at the time. 2pac single were good, no shade on those singles, but the fans anticipation for Snoop's debut album was insane.
Here's the twist, 2pac also starred in 3 "black" movies, which kept his persona in the "youth" space. 3 really good movies, with Above The Rim being the one to push him forward. His work on that soundtrack, now had folks wanting to hear more music from him. His antics in the news and his interviews were getting folks attention. He was getting attention as this untouchable person per say (in real time) some folks looked at him as a joke.
So now he's getting the attention from everyone, older black folks, white folks, the youth (from the movies) the ladies, Poetic Justice. He's still not on Snoop's level. Not in that 92–94-time frame. Nobody was seein Snoop
Snoop's done with his album in 94 (no more singles/videos), now he's back in the lab, it usually took a rapper a year and a half to drop another album, he's out of sight per say, pen. The antics from Pac picks up. He's shot 5 times in November 94.
But the shine/throne shifts off of Snoop and goes to Biggie, Biggie kills the 4th quarter of 94. This what folks don't talk about. This is how 2pac came in the space. 2pac is shot 5 times in November 94
95 comes around, NOW Pac is in your face, from the news outlets, interviews. His trial is going on in 95, MTV reporting on it because 2pac is in the news, he just got shot 5 times and he made it out alive and in court (folks thought this was some fake shyt in real time) but as you can imagine, it's a wild time frame from Nov 94 - Feb 95 I wish I can find it, but 2pac was on a talk show with a bullet proof vest on talking shyt about the folks who shot him. I can't remember when this was, but I remember hearing about this interview and folk were saying he was going off. I don't know if it was Ricky Lake, Arsenio, I jus remember hearing about it and that he had on a white bullet proof vest. (I was sleep in bed, had a bed time lol) It was a late night talk show I wanna say.
Now you have 2pac and rumors being talked about, Pac gets sentenced in Feb 95, 2pac drops "Dear Mama" shyt takes the fukk off. Bad Boy still running shyt, they just had too much ammo at that time, so Biggie and them are running shyt. Pac had some good singles, but he's in prison now, he still had the number 1 album, that single was so pressure. It played throughout that summer 95. One of the songs from MATW was in one of the biggest movies of that summer "Bad Boys" So Many Tears comes out that summer of 95, not quite a chart rocker, but it's a solid single, I appreciate it much more as I got older and understood the lyics.
Pac is chilling, you don't hear from him, other than the rumors, they were saying he got raped in jail with a mop handle, I remember that rumor,
So I guess, the Vibe magazine drops with Puffy and Biggie and shyt goes up. Word gets back to PAc and he's sending word back home asking about who set him up.
The Source Award is where the shift happens in August, Suge makes his statement, everybody is looking at Bad Boy funny now.
Rumors are now starting to hit the average fan about Pac's robbery (Snoop drops New York New York) At that time, Bad Boy running shyt, Snoop is not on top but he's still a big dog.
Also in 95, Snoop has nothing really on the air waves but the diss song to NYC with the Dogg Pound which came out in September, Bone Thugs is taken that secondary spot and Bad Boy is running shyt.
December 95 comes and 2pac drops, California Love and now 2pac is on the level or even pass that level where Snoop and Biggie were when they were on top.
The height of Snoop Dog and Biggie combine doesn't come close to Pac's shyt when he got out in 95 and California Love Dropped
I can say this, and folks may disagree, but Pac gave Snoop a fresh air with 2 of America's Most Wanted. I'm not saying folks weren't checking for Snoop but 2pac at the time took up so much stardom, it felt as Snoop wasn't even on DR. You can say Snoop was dealing with the murder trial, true indeed, but 2pac was a different cat when he surpassed everybody.
R.Kelly wanted to do a Best of Both Worlds Album. Quincy Jones wanted to put that together.
Last edited: