Member of hip hop legendary group, Goodie Mob, Big Gipp recalls his conversations with Tupac Shakur about the One Nation album.
Big Gipp appeared on BHIGHTV, and just as everyone who interacted with Tupac, the Atlanta artist had his own story to share. Up for discussion was Tupac’s One Nation album. Tupac was ready to bless hip hop with an album set to feature various artists worldwide.
“We were gonna record our records in Atlanta. ‘Pac wanted to record those records in Atlanta. His main thing was that, ‘Ima record the rest of this stuff out here on the west coast. Then when I get to Atlanta, I really wanna sit down with y’all and figure how to come about it.'”
Unfortunately the One Nation album would never be released and for Goodie Mob not one song was recorded. Others such as the Outlawz and Boot Camp Clik had the opportunity to lay out a few songs.
The album was going to change the game and the narrative. Tupac’s beef with Biggie Smalls would eventually take on another level when Vibe Magazine featured Biggie and Puffy on its cover and labeled the beef “East vs West.” Tupac was hoping to kill the negativity with the One Nation as he explained during a rare interview with MTV.
“This whole new vibe everyone wanna be on about it being a war between the east coast and the west coast. It’s really just a problem between two rappers,” said Tupac to host Rex Simon for MTV.
Mother of Tupac Shakur, Afeni Shakur, was also not a fan of the narrative and the direction her son was going. “[Afeni] was saying [the East vs. West beef] was reminding her of the tactics that COINTELPRO used,” E.D.I. Mean of Tupac’s affiliate group The Outlawz told Billboard back in 2016. “Even though he was trying to explain to her that that’s not what he was doing, I believe some of that got through to him.”
Also view: Buckshot Reveals Tupac’s Plan To Unite With Biggie After One Nation Album
According to Big Gipp, Tupac was ready to finish off his album obligations with Suge Knight and would then move to Atlanta. “He felt once he moved to Atlanta, he was gonna be sharing that energy and moving towards this energy,” added Gipp during his interview on BHIGHTV.
