More than two decades ago, Nas and Tupac were entwined in a short-lived hip-hop beef. It began in 1996, when Nas released his second album, It Was Written. It featured “The Message,” a track on which Tupac believed he was dissed. Tupac later released “Against All Odds,” with his own shots at Nas. But before they patched things up, Tupac was tragically killed in a shooting.
However, nearly 25 years after their beef came to an end, an unreleased record by Nas was leaked, and it features him taking strong shots at the late rapper. His attacks arrive halfway through the song’s first verse. “From tube-socks in Timbs to blue rocks and Benz / Who got the ends, the type of n***a 2Pac pretends,” Nas raps. “To all n****s who shine, guess who got revenge / I won’t showboat, my flow choke you.” This marks the first time fans hear Nas directly, unambiguously diss Tupac on a record.
Last summer, Nas spoke about the moment Tupac confronted him about the alleged (though not confirmed) diss on “The Message” during an interview on Ebro In The Morning. “He explained that he thought I was dissing him on the song ‘The Message,’ and I heard he was dissing me at clubs,” the rapper revealed. “He was like ‘Yo Nas, we brothers, man. We not supposed to go through this.’ And I’m like, that’s what I’m saying.” He added, “We had a plan to squash it in Vegas. So I was out there when he was in the hospital, praying for him to come through. Rest in peace.”
You can listen to the leaked record in the video above.