logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2019
35m 43s

Biggie and Tupac | 1. Against the World

Slate Podcasts
About this episode

On the first episode of Slow Burn’s third season: How a violent robbery severed Tupac’s friendship with Biggie Smalls and sparked a bicoastal beef that consumed the world of hip-hop.

In November 1994, while on trial for sexual abuse, Tupac Shakur is shot five times in a New York recording studio. In the aftermath, he starts to suspect that his erstwhile friend Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls, might be involved. It was the start of a beef that would consume the world of hip-hop and end with both men dead.

Want more Slow Burn? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access all episodes of Slow Burn (and your other favorite Slate podcasts) completely ad-free. Plus, you’ll unlock subscriber-exclusive bonus episodes that bring you behind-the-scenes on the making of the show. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jul 2
Decoder Ring | The White Noise Boom
White noise has a very precise technical definition, but people use the term loosely, to describe all sorts of washes of sound—synthetic hums, or natural sounds like a rainstorm or crashing waves—that can be used to mask other sounds. Twenty years ago, if you’d told someone white ... Show More
54m 58s
Jun 18
Decoder Ring | The Boston Cinematic Universe
This episode is a first for Decoder Ring: a live show, recorded at the WBUR Festival in Boston, Massachusetts. Given the setting, we decided to take on a Boston-based cultural mystery: namely, the “Boston movie.” Beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hollywood has churned ... Show More
49m 37s
Jun 4
Decoder Ring | The Laff Box (Encore)
Decoder Ring is marking its 100th episode this year. To celebrate, we’re revisiting our very first episode from 2018, which asks: What happened to the laugh track? For nearly five decades, the laugh track was ubiquitous, but beginning in the early 2000s, it fell out of sitcom fas ... Show More
38m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
What Really Happened to Tupac Shakur & Biggie Smalls? (Part 2)
After the murders of two of the most famous rappers of the 90s, people have speculated and theorized who could have been behind the hits. Some suggest Biggie was involved in Tupac's murder. Some say music executive Suge Knight was behind both. Part 1: https://audioboom.com/posts/ ... Show More
27m 46s
Jun 2018
Episode 320: Biggie and Tupac Part I - Sugar Bear
We're delving into the cases of two of the most famous "unsolved" murders of the 20th century: Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. On our first episode, we're going to give a short history of gangsta rap in order to track the path that led to the deaths of two of the biggest musical ... Show More
1h 40m
Dec 2019
Prelude & Feud on a 'G' Thang: Biggie vs Tupac
The East Coast / West Coast hip hop feud between Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls is full of tragedy and conspiracy, but what did it really sound like? For the third season of of the hit podcast Slow Burn, host Joel Anderson and producer Christopher Johnson dig up untold stories ab ... Show More
45m 11s
Jun 2023
Episode 300 - Tupac & Biggie: ‘2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted’ - Part 1
Stories of death, drugs, and gang violence were inextricably linked, in the 90s media, to the nation’s biggest rap stars.  Tupac Shakur was one of the decade’s biggest and most admired music icons – until his life was cut tragically short in 1996. By the time he died, he’d been i ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2024
Busta Rhymes Shares Untold Stories About Biggie, Jay-Z & Tupac, Origins of Speed Rapping, Health Journey | Ep 227
It doesn't get more legendary than this. On today's ALL THE SMOKE, the guys are joined by music icon, actor, producer, and one of the leaders of rap's 'golden age', Busta Rhymes, for a tell-all sit down about his life and career. Busta shares incredible untold Stories About Biggi ... Show More
2h 36m
Nov 2023
A conversation with Tupac’s godfather, Jamal Joseph
Despite his death 27 years ago, Tupac Shakur is still making headlines. He’s also widely considered to be one of the most successful rappers of all time. So, why is he so iconic? What was he like as a person, and why has it taken so long to arrest someone for his murder?De-Graft ... Show More
26m 6s
Apr 2024
S2 Ep37: JLP 37: NLE Choppa Gay Rumors, Chris Brown & Quavo Trade Disses, And Drake & Rick Ross Escalate Beef
Tune in to this week’s episode of The Jason Lee Podcast as we delve into some of the most talked-about news in the entertainment world. From Megan Fox’s response to a controversial comparison and Courtney Love's outspoken opinions on pop icons, to the passing of O.J. Simpson and ... Show More
1h 13m
Sep 2021
Death Row Records vs Bad Boy Records | Life After Death | 1
This episode contains explicit language.In the 1990s, the landscape of American music was changed forever by two titans of hip hop: Death Row and Bad Boy. The rivalry between these iconic rap labels would go on to become as legendary as it was notorious. But in these early days? ... Show More
21m 13s