Tupac and Biggie Smalls freestyling on a MSG stage was almost accompanied by Bronx native rapper Fat Joe until he was denied.
Fat Joe has been a part of many iconic moments in hip hop history, but perhaps none bigger then when he witnessed on stage Biggie Smalls and Tupac in MSG. It all went down at the 1993 Budweiser Superfest at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The show headlined by Big Daddy Kane was in for a treat as Tupac and Biggie hit the stage and surprised the crowd on hand.
Speaking with Angie Martinez on Iconic Records podcast series, Fat Joe recalled watching the future legends rock the stage.
Fat Joe witnessed history
“I was in the front row … and all of a sudden, you see the whole crowd turn back looking at the entrance, like the tunnel, and it was ‘Pac and Big — and this was Juice ‘Pac,” Joe recalled. “The whole crowd’s like, ‘Ahhh!’ They couldn’t believe it was ‘Pac and Big.”
During this time Tupac was in town shooting the Above The Rim film and was hanging out with Biggie that night who had his “Party and Bulls***” record making noise in the streets.
“While they were walking, they see me. ‘Pac is like, ‘Yo, come on, Crack!’ So I go with them and we go up on stage. I think Shyheim the Rugged Child from Wu-Tang was there too. We went up stage and they start that cypher, that, ‘I got 10 MAC-11s, about eight .38s, nine 9s,'” said Fat Joe. “You want to talk about standing next to somebody, I was on f***ing stage with Biggie and ‘Pac! [I was] nervous as hell because all I had was ‘Flow Joe,’ I ain’t have no bars ready, f***ing nothing.”
Big Daddy Kane stops Fat Joe
“They passed me the mic. ‘Yo, Fat Joe!’ Then Big Daddy Kane interrupted and goes, ‘Yo, yo, we ain’t go no time’ … It’s ok, Big Daddy Kane, I love you,” explained Fat Joe who admittedly said he wouldn’t have been ready for the unexpected moment.
“I saw you on stage. I saw you when you was ready to go. I wanted you to rhyme, I honestly did, cause knew who you was,” Kane said during a IG live with Fat Joe. “But it was like we had a set time and because of that freestyle we was almost over my time.”
Tupac’s verse (Biggie and Tupac Cyhper)
I thank the Lord for my many blessings
Though I’m stressin’, keep a vest for protection
From the barrel of a Smith & Wesson
And all my n***** in the pen’, here we go again
Ain’t nothin’ separating us from a MAC-10
Born in the ghetto as a hustler
Hold up, a straight soldier, buckin’ at the busters
No matter how you try, n***** never die
We just retaliate with hate, then we multiply
You see me striking down the block, hittin’ corners
Mobbin’ like a motherf*****, livin’ like I wanna
And ain’t no stopping at the red lights
I’m sideways, Thug Life, motherf***er, crime pays
Let the cops put they lights on; chase me, n****!
Zig-zaggin’ through the freeway; race me, n****!
In a high-speed chase with the law
The realest motherf***** that you ever saw
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