Former Bad Boy Records President Kirk Burrowes spoke to The Art Of Dialogue candidly about what kept the beef between rap icons and former friends Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. alive, saying that Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya?” record was one of the riff’s major culprits.
Burrowes says that the record was never directed at Tupac, but Diddy took it upon himself to take advantage of the recent shooting and robbery of ‘Pac in Quad Studios and drop a record that could easily be misconstrued as making Shakur the target.
“The way it was marketed by the company and released, in the succession of things that were going on that we were dealing with, on all the levels that we were dealing, that record did what it was supposed to do,” said the former Bad Boy executive. Burrowes continued,“That’s a perfect example of how my former business partner works and thinks. And if you could remember that three-dimensional type of thinking, then you could start to pierce through a lot of the common things that are being told and get to what’s really behind those things.”
Desiree Smith, the former girlfriend of Hip Hop icon Tupac Shakur, sat down with The Art Of Dialogue and delved into ‘Pac’s historic signing to Death Row Records while incarcerated in New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility.
Smith’s account of the signing is that Suge Knight came to see Tupac with his lawyer, David Kenner, while Ms. Smith was also visiting Pac. Smith said Kenner needed a witness to the contract, so Pac asked Smith to sign the contract as a witness.
“It was a little crazy because—and I don’t mean this literally, but I guess, once they left, he was excited, but he did make this comment where he was like, ‘I just signed my soul to the devil”, said Smith. Desriee, commonly known as Dez, said, “It was the only person that rocked with him when everybody else that he had made money with, did business with, pretty much turned they back. Jada [Pinkett Smith] tried to get some of the money, but she didn’t have all the money to get him out of there, so, it was his relief.”
Tupac’s sister is battling in court over transparency about withholding funds. Sekyiwa Shakur Alleges Lack Of Transparency According to reports, Sekyiwa Shakur and her legal team are calling out Tom Whalley for not being straightforward with information about the money he’s been receiving since he’s been the only one running Amaru. Shakur states in the […]
The Los Angeles residency for the Tupac Shakur: Wake Me When I’m Free exhibition will wrap at the end of the summer. On Monday, September 5, 2022, The Canvas at L.A. Live (944 Georgia Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015) will close its doors for the last time. During the last few weeks of the show’s run, there will be a variety of fresh summer programming and promotions.
The Shakur Estate-approved show, which debuted in January, has seen its run extended twice owing to high demand and has received an array of incredibly positive reviews and touching testimony from celebrities, the press, and fans alike. The exhibit and estate partnered with LAUSD to offer free tickets to any public school groups (grade school, middle school, and high school) and their chaperones for the remainder of the exhibit’s time in Los Angeles, and since launching the initiative, they have welcomed over 50 school groups through their doors. This was done in an effort to give back and share Tupac’s legacy as an activist and artist with the youth of Los Angeles.
Additionally, the exhibit has scheduled summertime activities and promotions taking place during its last few weeks. If visitors arrive at the exhibit wearing Tupac merchandise, they will receive a 10% discount every Monday. Fans can receive a 10% discount by arriving at the exhibit in the uniform of their preferred baseball team during MLB’s All-Star Week in July. Fans may watch Poetic Justice at Rooftop Cinema Club’s El Segundo branch on Thursday, August 11th, and also visit the exhibit with a special ticket package for Tupac Thursday, which is also available. The website of Rooftop Cinema Club will offer tickets. Throughout July and August, the exhibit will feature a number of community groups as a way of maintaining the give-back philosophy. To request free seats for your 501(c)(3), send an email to [email protected]. In the upcoming weeks, more programming and promotions will be revealed.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to share this experience with Los Angeles,” said Jeremy Hodges, Exhibit Creative Director/Found of Project Art Collective. “We’ve been blown away by the support and couldn’t have asked for a better launch to the exhibit. I have been honored to be able to tell his story in an interactive, immersive format and we look forward to continuing to share his legacy and impact with more cities.”
WMWIF presents Shakur’s music, poetry, and never-before-seen objects in a 20,000 square foot controlled setting analogous to a contemporary art museum. It is a hybrid of a museum, art installation, and sensory experience. Visitors move through a variety of surround sound settings loaded with technologically incorporated rarities. WMWIF explores the deeper significance of his revolutionary art, music, and action. As they travel through his extraordinary life, the audience is educated and enlightened through a maze of emotions.
The most commonly mentioned suspect in the the 2002 murder of Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell is now also said to be a suspect in the killing of Tupac’s longtime friend/collaborator Randy “Stretch” Walker in Queens in 1995.
Prosecutors claim that they have at least three witnesses that Ronald “Tinard” Washington was the man who shot and killed Stretch during an attempt to shoot Stretch’s brother Christopher “Majesty” Walker in 1995. The prosecution also alleges that they ID’d a person that was in the car with Washington when the shooting occurred, but that witness would have to plead the Fifth amendment in order to testify.
Fingers have pointed at Washington in the Stretch murder since the early 2000s, but he was never charged. Federal prosecutors brought up the Stretch homicide during Washington’s 2007 robbery case, but the judge refused to hear the accusation.
Ronald Washington and Karl “Little D” Jordan remain in federal custody for the murder of Jam Master Jay allegedly because of a disagreement over a 10-kilo cocaine deal. Prosecutors claim that Jay was connected to a high ranking Black Mafia Family associate and threatened to cut Washington out of the deal three months before he was murdered. Prosecutors claim that both men stormed Mizell’s Queens studio, with Washington ordering everyone to the floor to provide cover for Jordan, who ultimately shot and killed the world famous DJ. The defense claims that the prosecution’s 18-year delay, unreliable witnesses and Jordan’s alibi counters the prosecution’s allegations.
The defense has moved to try the two men’s cases separately, with Stretch’s killing allegedly being loosely tied to the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac in Quad Studios, which occurred exactly one year prior to Walker’s death.
Prosecutors allege that Walker had a long running feud with the Young Guns, a crew associated with Stretch’s brother Majesty. Washington was named as a member of the Hollis Juniors Crew, a rival of the Young Guns who allegedly killed Washington’s brother.
In a court filing, prosecutors wrote about Washington’s involvement in Stretch’s murder, “At the time, (Washington) believed that he was firing at Young Guns member (Majesty), (Stretch’s) brother.” Majesty and Stretch were part of a rap group known as the Live Squad. After his Stretch’s death, Majesty started Grand Imperial Records with E-Money Bags, who was shot and killed in 2001 allegedly at the order of Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff.
Court records show that the trial is scheduled for February 2023.
