1 00:00:08,008 --> 00:00:09,027 -It was the sound no one was talking about. 2 00:00:09,051 --> 00:00:10,695 -Hip-hop was all underground. 3 00:00:10,719 --> 00:00:12,488 You had to know somebody who knows somebody to hear hip-hop. 4 00:00:12,512 --> 00:00:15,241 -It didn't really have a lot of news coverage. 5 00:00:15,265 --> 00:00:17,994 Radio stations were hesitant to play it. 6 00:00:18,018 --> 00:00:19,621 -But that was about to change. 7 00:00:19,645 --> 00:00:22,165 -MTV opened the doors a little bit. 8 00:00:22,189 --> 00:00:25,710 -And then "Source" magazine pops up out of nowhere. 9 00:00:25,734 --> 00:00:29,422 -Back in the day, if you wasn't in "The Source" Awards, 10 00:00:29,446 --> 00:00:31,174 you was not hip-hop. 11 00:00:31,198 --> 00:00:33,343 -The teenage white kids out in the suburbs 12 00:00:33,367 --> 00:00:34,719 want to know what's going on. 13 00:00:34,743 --> 00:00:36,262 -I said, "Wow, you know, hip-hop 14 00:00:36,286 --> 00:00:38,097 is gonna be bigger than rock-and-roll 15 00:00:38,121 --> 00:00:42,060 because it's unifying people of all races and backgrounds. 16 00:00:42,084 --> 00:00:43,519 -But that power to unify... 17 00:00:43,543 --> 00:00:45,355 -It's gonna cause people to get killed. 18 00:00:45,379 --> 00:00:48,358 It doesn't belong out there. - Can also tear people apart. 19 00:00:48,382 --> 00:00:51,361 -I'm your big brother. I will break your big ass down. 20 00:00:51,385 --> 00:00:53,071 -Y'all don't love us! 21 00:00:53,095 --> 00:00:55,448 -That was the match that lit the stick of dynamite. 22 00:00:55,472 --> 00:00:57,742 -Rapper Tupac Shakur has passed away. 23 00:00:57,766 --> 00:01:01,829 -Some spoke of an East Coast/ West Coast rap war. 24 00:01:01,853 --> 00:01:04,540 -I just believe that there's more to the story 25 00:01:04,564 --> 00:01:08,294 with Tupac and Biggie's death than meets the eye. 26 00:01:08,318 --> 00:01:16,318 {\an8}♪♪ 27 00:01:16,451 --> 00:01:18,096 [ Dial-up modems screeching ] 28 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:24,560 {\an8}♪♪ 29 00:01:24,584 --> 00:01:31,192 {\an8}♪♪ 30 00:01:31,216 --> 00:01:33,820 {\an8}-September 7th, 1996. 31 00:01:33,844 --> 00:01:36,781 {\an8}Tupac Shakur, one of hip-hop's most iconic figures, 32 00:01:36,805 --> 00:01:39,784 is gunned down on the Las Vegas Strip. 33 00:01:39,808 --> 00:01:44,580 It's a cold, cold day in the rap, hip-hop music world. 34 00:01:44,604 --> 00:01:46,416 -Tupac's murder and the subsequent murder 35 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,711 of his one-time friend, then rival Biggie Smalls 36 00:01:49,735 --> 00:01:51,796 will mark a bloody intermission 37 00:01:51,820 --> 00:01:56,092 in the story of hip-hop's rise in influence in the '90s. 38 00:01:56,116 --> 00:02:01,431 -You had the two most powerful hip-hop artists that were, 39 00:02:01,455 --> 00:02:04,809 you know, basically carrying hip-hop on their backs 40 00:02:04,833 --> 00:02:06,686 disappear. 41 00:02:06,710 --> 00:02:10,606 It really created a vacuum that led to a lot of changes 42 00:02:10,630 --> 00:02:14,402 in the hip-hop culture and the hip-hop industry. 43 00:02:14,426 --> 00:02:22,426 {\an8}♪♪ 44 00:02:22,768 --> 00:02:28,333 -The music is born in the '70s at parties in New York. 45 00:02:28,357 --> 00:02:31,627 -You know, hip-hop was an independent art form 46 00:02:31,651 --> 00:02:33,296 for a long time, you know? 47 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,424 It had a kind of downtown scene in New York, 48 00:02:36,448 --> 00:02:39,385 {\an8}I'm Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke Professor 49 00:02:39,409 --> 00:02:42,597 {\an8}of African and African-American studies at Duke University. 50 00:02:42,621 --> 00:02:47,310 {\an8}♪♪ 51 00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:50,605 You obviously weren't hearing it on white radio stations, 52 00:02:50,629 --> 00:02:53,524 and Black radio stations were really hesitant at the time 53 00:02:53,548 --> 00:02:56,277 to play rap music also. - So what's it gonna take? 54 00:02:56,301 --> 00:02:58,237 -Their core audience was African-American 55 00:02:58,261 --> 00:03:00,490 middle-class and working-class adults. 56 00:03:00,514 --> 00:03:04,619 And what they heard when they heard hip-hop was noise. 57 00:03:04,643 --> 00:03:08,498 {\an8}-We've decided to mask or delete three words 58 00:03:08,522 --> 00:03:10,666 {\an8}that are heard in a lot of rap records, 59 00:03:10,690 --> 00:03:13,669 {\an8}and they are [bleep], [bleep], and [bleep]. 60 00:03:13,693 --> 00:03:17,590 {\an8}-The major record stores... They wouldn't even carry rap. 61 00:03:17,614 --> 00:03:20,718 {\an8}You couldn't get it at Warehouse or Tower Records 62 00:03:20,742 --> 00:03:22,428 {\an8}because they refused to carry it. 63 00:03:22,452 --> 00:03:24,472 {\an8}They're not... You know, that's novelty stuff. 64 00:03:24,496 --> 00:03:29,727 {\an8}My name is Greg Mack, and I created 1580 KDAY, 65 00:03:29,751 --> 00:03:35,316 best known as the first 24/7 rap radio station. 66 00:03:35,340 --> 00:03:37,860 -Anybody older than 25 in those days 67 00:03:37,884 --> 00:03:40,863 really looked down upon rap music 68 00:03:40,887 --> 00:03:42,490 and thought it was, you know, trash 69 00:03:42,514 --> 00:03:43,825 or didn't think it would last, 70 00:03:43,849 --> 00:03:46,869 didn't take any talent to make rap music. 71 00:03:46,893 --> 00:03:50,748 -But two rap fans in an unlikely place dedicate themselves 72 00:03:50,772 --> 00:03:54,544 to bringing hip-hop music and culture to everyone. 73 00:03:54,568 --> 00:03:56,671 -They started to do this magazine 74 00:03:56,695 --> 00:03:58,881 out of a dorm room in Harvard, right? 75 00:03:58,905 --> 00:04:01,884 And first, folks are like "Harvard?" Right? 76 00:04:01,908 --> 00:04:04,720 And then you see, you know, Dave Mays and Jon Shecter 77 00:04:04,744 --> 00:04:07,598 and it's like, "Who are these two white boys?" 78 00:04:07,622 --> 00:04:11,394 {\an8}My name is Dave Mays, and I am the creator 79 00:04:11,418 --> 00:04:15,898 {\an8}of "The Source" magazine and "The Source" Awards. 80 00:04:15,922 --> 00:04:19,652 "The Source" I started between my sophomore and junior years 81 00:04:19,676 --> 00:04:23,239 with another white Jewish kid from Philadelphia 82 00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:24,824 named John Shecter. 83 00:04:24,848 --> 00:04:27,910 -You know, you always have these white folks in the room 84 00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:31,581 who are invested in the culture. 85 00:04:31,605 --> 00:04:34,250 -I was born and raised in Washington, D.C. 86 00:04:34,274 --> 00:04:38,463 I got exposed to Black people and Black music and culture 87 00:04:38,487 --> 00:04:40,298 at a very early age 88 00:04:40,322 --> 00:04:44,635 and... and took a real interest and... and liking in it. 89 00:04:44,659 --> 00:04:48,764 There was absolutely no other reading material or information 90 00:04:48,788 --> 00:04:53,311 for this music and culture that was growing and growing. 91 00:04:53,335 --> 00:04:55,938 -So Dave and John decided to change that. 92 00:04:55,962 --> 00:05:00,776 -It went from one sheet to six pages to 16 pages. 93 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,322 Very early on, somebody mentioned to me 94 00:05:04,346 --> 00:05:08,659 that I should read this book about "Rolling Stone" magazine. 95 00:05:08,683 --> 00:05:12,330 And so that became my inspiration. 96 00:05:12,354 --> 00:05:13,915 I said, "Wow, you know, 97 00:05:13,939 --> 00:05:16,459 I'm gonna build the "Rolling Stone" 98 00:05:16,483 --> 00:05:18,294 of the hip-hop generation." 99 00:05:18,318 --> 00:05:22,715 -And it's a "Rolling Stone" cover in 1986 featuring Run-DMC 100 00:05:22,739 --> 00:05:24,926 that marks the moment when everything changes 101 00:05:24,950 --> 00:05:26,636 in the music world. 102 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:27,970 That year, the trio releases 103 00:05:27,994 --> 00:05:31,516 a version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." 104 00:05:31,540 --> 00:05:34,602 {\an8}♪♪ 105 00:05:34,626 --> 00:05:36,812 -And that opens up the portal, right? 106 00:05:36,836 --> 00:05:39,982 You know, Run-DMC sells 10 million copies. 107 00:05:40,006 --> 00:05:44,612 -Even the mighty MTV, bastion of rock and pop music, 108 00:05:44,636 --> 00:05:46,822 takes notice and responds. 109 00:05:46,846 --> 00:05:49,951 -I got a man here that is currently doing a national show 110 00:05:49,975 --> 00:05:51,619 called "Yo! MTV Raps," 111 00:05:51,643 --> 00:05:53,496 one of the original people from hip-hop, 112 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,373 goes by the name of... - The big thing that happens 113 00:05:55,397 --> 00:05:58,459 is when "Yo! MTV" gets created in 1988, 114 00:05:58,483 --> 00:06:00,670 you know, first with a weekly show 115 00:06:00,694 --> 00:06:04,131 and then a daily show... That was a game changer. 116 00:06:04,155 --> 00:06:06,050 {\an8}♪♪ 117 00:06:06,074 --> 00:06:08,844 - "Yo! MTV Raps" was very instrumental 118 00:06:08,868 --> 00:06:11,847 for helping some of those underground artists 119 00:06:11,871 --> 00:06:13,516 that were, like, really good 120 00:06:13,540 --> 00:06:15,518 and doing these little baby shows... 121 00:06:15,542 --> 00:06:16,978 They was getting air time. 122 00:06:17,002 --> 00:06:21,482 {\an8}Hey, I'm Bill Bellamy, and I was the veejay of "MTV Jams" 123 00:06:21,506 --> 00:06:23,484 {\an8}during the '90s. 124 00:06:23,508 --> 00:06:24,652 {\an8}What a blast. 125 00:06:24,676 --> 00:06:27,697 [ Laughs ] 126 00:06:27,721 --> 00:06:30,700 -Interviews with rappers and performances on air 127 00:06:30,724 --> 00:06:32,660 gave America's youth of all races 128 00:06:32,684 --> 00:06:36,122 an up-close look at this exploding scene. 129 00:06:36,146 --> 00:06:38,124 -MTV opened the doors a little bit, 130 00:06:38,148 --> 00:06:40,751 which was bananas for the artists. 131 00:06:40,775 --> 00:06:43,713 All these different artists that was like right there, 132 00:06:43,737 --> 00:06:46,674 now they are getting air time. 133 00:06:46,698 --> 00:06:48,801 That changed the game for them. 134 00:06:48,825 --> 00:06:53,472 So when the doors opened up, MTV was giving a bird's eye view 135 00:06:53,496 --> 00:06:55,725 what hip-hop was to mainstream America. 136 00:06:55,749 --> 00:06:57,393 "I said," Wow, you know, hip-hop 137 00:06:57,417 --> 00:06:59,020 is gonna be bigger than rock-and-roll 138 00:06:59,044 --> 00:07:01,897 because it's unifying people of all races and backgrounds 139 00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:03,733 in a way that, you know, 140 00:07:03,757 --> 00:07:05,818 no other music has really ever done." 141 00:07:05,842 --> 00:07:09,572 {\an8}- "The Source" starts writing about artists like Eazy-E, 142 00:07:09,596 --> 00:07:11,824 whose rhymes describe a very different existence 143 00:07:11,848 --> 00:07:16,829 from the one many of its white suburban readers are living. 144 00:07:16,853 --> 00:07:21,500 Gangsta rap has arrived, and its brashest voice hails 145 00:07:21,524 --> 00:07:24,712 from the streets of South Central L.A. 146 00:07:24,736 --> 00:07:27,840 -NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" is the first rap LP 147 00:07:27,864 --> 00:07:30,468 to get a parental advisory sticker, 148 00:07:30,492 --> 00:07:33,512 and its controversial single, "the Police," 149 00:07:33,536 --> 00:07:35,723 draws the nation's attention. 150 00:07:35,747 --> 00:07:40,102 {\an8}♪♪ 151 00:07:40,126 --> 00:07:42,688 -When NWA came out with "F the Police," 152 00:07:42,712 --> 00:07:46,651 at first I was like, "Damn, everything that I've dealt with, 153 00:07:46,675 --> 00:07:48,694 they're talking about. 154 00:07:48,718 --> 00:07:51,656 Having a Hispanic wife at the time, 155 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,492 we were constantly getting pulled over 156 00:07:54,516 --> 00:07:56,577 because they thought I was a pimp. 157 00:07:56,601 --> 00:07:59,997 So, hell yeah, "F" the police, you know? 158 00:08:00,021 --> 00:08:03,542 -But there are no music videos, there's no radio airplay. 159 00:08:03,566 --> 00:08:05,252 And folks are trying to figure out, 160 00:08:05,276 --> 00:08:07,713 "What is this thing now that's on the top of the charts?" 161 00:08:07,737 --> 00:08:09,965 -Word on the street... When it comes to, you know, 162 00:08:09,989 --> 00:08:13,761 {\an8}rap music, it's all word of mouth. 163 00:08:13,785 --> 00:08:16,472 {\an8}-The mom and pop record stores were the place 164 00:08:16,496 --> 00:08:19,809 where folks would go regularly to find out what was going on. 165 00:08:19,833 --> 00:08:22,144 And then all of a sudden there's "The Source" sitting there. 166 00:08:22,168 --> 00:08:24,522 There was absolutely no other information 167 00:08:24,546 --> 00:08:26,982 anywhere about hip-hop. 168 00:08:27,006 --> 00:08:30,152 - "The Source" became this important space early on 169 00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:32,113 for folks to be able to find out 170 00:08:32,137 --> 00:08:34,156 what was going on in the culture. 171 00:08:34,180 --> 00:08:37,493 -NWA proves gangsta rap can cross over 172 00:08:37,517 --> 00:08:39,704 to white teenagers who read "The Source." 173 00:08:39,728 --> 00:08:42,790 "Straight Outta Compton" goes platinum. 174 00:08:42,814 --> 00:08:45,835 -People say we got a lot of Black people buying our music. 175 00:08:45,859 --> 00:08:49,171 No, you don't get to be number one and platinum and all that 176 00:08:49,195 --> 00:08:50,673 with just Black people. 177 00:08:50,697 --> 00:08:52,717 You got all races... 178 00:08:52,741 --> 00:08:56,220 Mostly the teenage white kids out in the suburbs 179 00:08:56,244 --> 00:08:58,514 because they want to know what's going on. 180 00:08:58,538 --> 00:09:02,852 -Hip-hop was appealing to people of all races. 181 00:09:02,876 --> 00:09:05,229 Whatever you were, if you were young, 182 00:09:05,253 --> 00:09:06,897 you were falling in love with hip-hop. 183 00:09:06,921 --> 00:09:10,693 It was a youth movement. 184 00:09:10,717 --> 00:09:13,154 -But the story of police brutality being reported 185 00:09:13,178 --> 00:09:15,698 by NWA and "...the Police" 186 00:09:15,722 --> 00:09:18,868 is about to hit every news outlet in the world. 187 00:09:18,892 --> 00:09:22,163 -So when Rodney King happens, it was just really organic 188 00:09:22,187 --> 00:09:25,040 to be able to connect those kinds of dots. 189 00:09:25,064 --> 00:09:26,876 -On March 3rd, 1991, 190 00:09:26,900 --> 00:09:29,712 four members of the Los Angeles Police Department 191 00:09:29,736 --> 00:09:34,175 beat an unarmed Black man pulled over for a traffic violation. 192 00:09:34,199 --> 00:09:36,761 The beating is captured on tape. 193 00:09:36,785 --> 00:09:39,138 -Do you have any idea at all how many times 194 00:09:39,162 --> 00:09:41,891 you were hit by a club? - [ Exhales sharply ] 195 00:09:41,915 --> 00:09:43,601 -What do you remember about that aspect of it? 196 00:09:43,625 --> 00:09:46,312 -Several times. Several times. 197 00:09:46,336 --> 00:09:49,231 And then stomped and kicked. 198 00:09:49,255 --> 00:09:51,901 -And now police mistreatment of Black people 199 00:09:51,925 --> 00:09:54,737 described by NWA's "the Police" 200 00:09:54,761 --> 00:09:57,698 is being told by every news outlet in the world. 201 00:09:57,722 --> 00:10:01,577 -It was one of the first times we saw police brutality 202 00:10:01,601 --> 00:10:04,121 against Black people on video. 203 00:10:04,145 --> 00:10:07,082 {\an8}I'm Tanya Hart. I'm an entertainment journalist. 204 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:08,918 [ Siren wails ] 205 00:10:08,942 --> 00:10:11,045 -The billowing smoke and flames could be seen for miles... 206 00:10:11,069 --> 00:10:13,798 An unnerving scene for people driving by. 207 00:10:13,822 --> 00:10:15,174 -And it rocked the world, 208 00:10:15,198 --> 00:10:18,761 and it rocked L.A., and a riot broke out. 209 00:10:18,785 --> 00:10:22,306 [ Sirens wail, police radio chatter ] 210 00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:25,351 -And largely in part because of what happens in L.A. 211 00:10:25,375 --> 00:10:28,103 with Rodney King, you know, hip-hop matured 212 00:10:28,127 --> 00:10:29,897 from a kind of political force 213 00:10:29,921 --> 00:10:32,107 that was on the fringes in the 1980s 214 00:10:32,131 --> 00:10:35,319 into the best on-the-ground news reporting 215 00:10:35,343 --> 00:10:37,071 of what was happening politically 216 00:10:37,095 --> 00:10:38,948 at that point in time 217 00:10:38,972 --> 00:10:42,117 -And for "The Source," this was a huge issue. 218 00:10:42,141 --> 00:10:44,870 You know, we immediately put together 219 00:10:44,894 --> 00:10:47,623 an incredible special edition of the magazine 220 00:10:47,647 --> 00:10:50,000 that was in stark contrast to the kind of coverage 221 00:10:50,024 --> 00:10:54,630 {\an1}that you would see in any other kind of mainstream media outlet, 222 00:10:54,654 --> 00:10:56,382 -These brothers and sisters who are rapping 223 00:10:56,406 --> 00:10:58,926 and telling you stories... These... these aren't stories 224 00:10:58,950 --> 00:11:00,386 as in fables. 225 00:11:00,410 --> 00:11:03,180 These are real life. This is reality. 226 00:11:03,204 --> 00:11:05,140 -As hip-hop's popularity grows, 227 00:11:05,164 --> 00:11:07,977 so does the influence of "The Source." 228 00:11:08,001 --> 00:11:10,813 The magazine launches its own awards show 229 00:11:10,837 --> 00:11:13,315 where the line between the violence expressed in the music 230 00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:17,319 and the violence playing out in real life will fade away. 231 00:11:17,343 --> 00:11:19,029 -I'm in the front row. 232 00:11:19,053 --> 00:11:20,823 This is my first "Source" Awards. 233 00:11:20,847 --> 00:11:24,076 Sticky Fingaz pulls out a gun... 234 00:11:24,100 --> 00:11:26,078 [ Gunshots, indistinct shouting ] 235 00:11:26,102 --> 00:11:28,289 shoot the lights out at the top, 236 00:11:28,313 --> 00:11:29,874 puts the gun back in... 237 00:11:29,898 --> 00:11:32,668 ♪ Slam, da-dun-dun, dun... ♪ 238 00:11:32,692 --> 00:11:34,295 I can't slam. 239 00:11:34,319 --> 00:11:36,964 I can't slam 'cause that's real glass. 240 00:11:36,988 --> 00:11:38,674 That means that was a real bullet 241 00:11:38,698 --> 00:11:40,009 and he shot the glass out. 242 00:11:40,033 --> 00:11:41,326 That's too real for me. 243 00:11:47,206 --> 00:11:48,934 -In 1990, "The Source" sets up offices in New York 244 00:11:48,958 --> 00:11:52,313 filling mailboxes and magazine stands across the country 245 00:11:52,337 --> 00:11:54,106 with its glossy pages. 246 00:11:54,130 --> 00:11:56,108 -I worked on weekends. I worked late nights. 247 00:11:56,132 --> 00:11:58,736 I was, you know, often the first person in the office 248 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:00,863 and the last person to leave. 249 00:12:00,887 --> 00:12:02,156 You know, it wasn't long 250 00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:05,117 before folks like Chuck D from Public Enemy 251 00:12:05,141 --> 00:12:09,705 dubbed "The Source" the Bible of hip-hop in the early 1990s. 252 00:12:09,729 --> 00:12:12,207 -You know, I give Mays and Shecter a lot of credit. 253 00:12:12,231 --> 00:12:15,878 You know, as... as the white publishers of a magazine, 254 00:12:15,902 --> 00:12:18,005 {\an8}they had to bring in Black journalists, 255 00:12:18,029 --> 00:12:20,716 {\an8}and they did that consistently. 256 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:25,262 {\an8}-We began rating albums on a scale of one to five mikes, 257 00:12:25,286 --> 00:12:30,142 {\an8}and the five mikes being a hip-hop classic. 258 00:12:30,166 --> 00:12:32,102 {\an8}-If you didn't get three mikes and up, 259 00:12:32,126 --> 00:12:34,897 {\an8}you should... you should quit. 260 00:12:34,921 --> 00:12:39,985 {\an8}Those mikes, for whatever reason, back in the day... 261 00:12:40,009 --> 00:12:42,404 You need four or five, real talk. 262 00:12:42,428 --> 00:12:47,076 You wanted five, but if you got four mikes... 263 00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:48,827 you're onto something, right? 264 00:12:48,851 --> 00:12:50,454 -It's not 50 percent of the books, so... 265 00:12:50,478 --> 00:12:53,248 -Matty C was the guy who basically ran 266 00:12:53,272 --> 00:12:55,417 that Unsigned Hype column at "The Source." 267 00:12:55,441 --> 00:12:57,920 {\an8}He's the one that heard Biggie's demo tape 268 00:12:57,944 --> 00:12:59,922 {\an8}and featured him in the magazine. 269 00:12:59,946 --> 00:13:01,799 -The notorious B.I.G., 270 00:13:01,823 --> 00:13:03,425 an up-and-coming rapper from Brooklyn, 271 00:13:03,449 --> 00:13:05,928 gets the attention of "The Source" staff 272 00:13:05,952 --> 00:13:09,932 with an impressive demo showing off his easy flow. 273 00:13:09,956 --> 00:13:14,103 {\an8}♪♪ 274 00:13:14,127 --> 00:13:18,273 -You start to look at all of the people whose careers 275 00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:22,778 were basically created by "The Source." 276 00:13:22,802 --> 00:13:25,114 Like having Puffy call me, and, you know, 277 00:13:25,138 --> 00:13:27,199 when he's starting Bad Boy Records and say he needed, 278 00:13:27,223 --> 00:13:29,326 you know, new artists... Did I have anybody for him? 279 00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:33,122 And, you know, giving Biggie's demo tape to him. 280 00:13:33,146 --> 00:13:37,960 -Sean "Puffy" Combs scouts new talent for Uptown Records 281 00:13:37,984 --> 00:13:42,089 when he's not hosting some of New York's best hip-hop parties. 282 00:13:42,113 --> 00:13:45,259 But in 1993, he starts his own label 283 00:13:45,283 --> 00:13:47,469 with Biggie as one of his first artists. 284 00:13:47,493 --> 00:13:50,222 -Check it out. This is my man, the Notorious B.I.G. 285 00:13:50,246 --> 00:13:51,515 -What's the deal? What's going on? 286 00:13:51,539 --> 00:13:53,392 -Puffy... he understood 287 00:13:53,416 --> 00:13:57,104 how to package an artist to make them sell. 288 00:13:57,128 --> 00:13:58,480 {\an8}Hi. My name is Frankie Ross. 289 00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:02,359 {\an8}In the '90s, I was on the radio as an announcer, 290 00:14:02,383 --> 00:14:05,320 but I was also a program director. 291 00:14:05,344 --> 00:14:09,033 Puffy took Biggie and packaged him, and he molded him 292 00:14:09,057 --> 00:14:15,456 and turned him into this notorious B.I.G. that we loved. 293 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,250 - "The Source" helps bring Biggie to the masses, 294 00:14:18,274 --> 00:14:22,379 chronicling his rise from local rapper to hip-hop heavyweight. 295 00:14:22,403 --> 00:14:25,299 When the notorious B.I.G. lands his first cover, 296 00:14:25,323 --> 00:14:30,387 he's officially deemed the king of New York. 297 00:14:30,411 --> 00:14:33,891 -In the early '90s, New York was literally considered 298 00:14:33,915 --> 00:14:37,352 to be like the... the Mecca for hip-hop. 299 00:14:37,376 --> 00:14:41,148 -But not to hip-hop artists out west like NWA, 300 00:14:41,172 --> 00:14:43,150 looking to get their music heard. 301 00:14:43,174 --> 00:14:45,277 -And so you got all these West Coast rappers 302 00:14:45,301 --> 00:14:48,363 making music but wasn't getting no airplay. 303 00:14:48,387 --> 00:14:51,909 {\an8}-You know, at first, the rivalry honestly was really 304 00:14:51,933 --> 00:14:56,371 {\an8}just about who had the best beats and the best sound. 305 00:14:56,395 --> 00:15:00,125 -I've heard different versions of how the rift got started. 306 00:15:00,149 --> 00:15:05,339 I do know that New York didn't play West Coast artists. 307 00:15:05,363 --> 00:15:08,425 [ Record scratches ] - When NWA's Dr. Dre 308 00:15:08,449 --> 00:15:11,220 releases "The Chronic," his first solo record, 309 00:15:11,244 --> 00:15:13,388 it tops the charts, helped by the video 310 00:15:13,412 --> 00:15:16,308 for the single "Nuthin' But A G Thang." 311 00:15:16,332 --> 00:15:20,020 {\an8}♪♪ 312 00:15:20,044 --> 00:15:23,357 But even "The Source" is accused of having an East Coast bias 313 00:15:23,381 --> 00:15:26,568 {\an8}when it gives the album a less than perfect score. 314 00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:28,487 - "The Chronic" got four and a half mikes. 315 00:15:28,511 --> 00:15:30,489 So, I mean, we knew it was an amazing album. 316 00:15:30,513 --> 00:15:34,326 We knew it was incredible and should have gotten five mikes. 317 00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:37,371 -And when Dr. Dre's protege, Snoop Dogg, 318 00:15:37,395 --> 00:15:39,331 releases the record "Doggystyle," 319 00:15:39,355 --> 00:15:45,003 along with the music video for "Who Am I? What's My Name?"... 320 00:15:45,027 --> 00:15:49,591 it introduces gangsta funk... Hip-hop with a West Coast Twist. 321 00:15:49,615 --> 00:15:51,426 "The Source" gives it high praise, 322 00:15:51,450 --> 00:15:54,596 helping to legitimize this new sound. 323 00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:58,433 -So when they broke through and artists started 324 00:15:58,457 --> 00:16:00,978 coming up from the West Coast and they started saying, 325 00:16:01,002 --> 00:16:03,605 "Yeah, yeah, we're here now. What? 326 00:16:03,629 --> 00:16:05,440 The West Coast ride too." 327 00:16:05,464 --> 00:16:07,693 So now it's like even money. 328 00:16:07,717 --> 00:16:09,111 We're both selling records. 329 00:16:09,135 --> 00:16:11,405 We're both putting out hits, right? 330 00:16:11,429 --> 00:16:15,117 And Death Row Records was synonymous 331 00:16:15,141 --> 00:16:17,494 with like the West Coast energy... 332 00:16:17,518 --> 00:16:19,329 Where we at right now, gangsta rap. 333 00:16:19,353 --> 00:16:21,456 And we're telling it like it is. 334 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,377 -Behind the G Funk movement is L.A.'s Death Row Records, 335 00:16:25,401 --> 00:16:29,464 a label that Dr. Dre sets up with Marion Suge Knight. 336 00:16:29,488 --> 00:16:32,509 -Suge Knight was definitely a big deal in the '90s. 337 00:16:32,533 --> 00:16:36,096 He ruled the world of hip-hop, certainly on the West Coast. 338 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,640 -I'm gonna give the people what they want, 339 00:16:38,664 --> 00:16:43,478 and what they want is the real stuff that they can feel. 340 00:16:43,502 --> 00:16:48,692 -Suge was not a producer. He was not a writer. 341 00:16:48,716 --> 00:16:50,569 He was a strong arm. 342 00:16:50,593 --> 00:16:55,991 So he was handling business like a gangster for real. 343 00:16:56,015 --> 00:16:57,492 "And if you're not playing my records, 344 00:16:57,516 --> 00:17:01,246 we're gonna make you play them"... that kind of energy. 345 00:17:01,270 --> 00:17:06,001 -Suge's tactics seemed to work. 346 00:17:06,025 --> 00:17:08,629 With hip-hop blaring from car windows and boom boxes 347 00:17:08,653 --> 00:17:10,380 from New York to L.A., 348 00:17:10,404 --> 00:17:13,425 "The Source" launches a grassroots marketing campaign 349 00:17:13,449 --> 00:17:15,761 to bring the magazine and its music 350 00:17:15,785 --> 00:17:18,347 to the country at large. 351 00:17:18,371 --> 00:17:22,726 - "The Source" van was like the ice cream truck of hip-hop. 352 00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:26,188 You know, we would basically send the van around the country 353 00:17:26,212 --> 00:17:29,316 to every city, you know, large, medium sized cities, 354 00:17:29,340 --> 00:17:33,195 go into the neighborhoods, pull up outside of record stores, 355 00:17:33,219 --> 00:17:36,240 schools, parks, blasting music. 356 00:17:36,264 --> 00:17:38,575 And it was like a mobile block party. 357 00:17:38,599 --> 00:17:41,453 You know, we would pass out lots of promotional items, 358 00:17:41,477 --> 00:17:44,206 you know, C.D.s or posters, stickers, 359 00:17:44,230 --> 00:17:46,500 different things like that. 360 00:17:46,524 --> 00:17:49,169 -And while "The Source" will help introduce hip-hop 361 00:17:49,193 --> 00:17:52,047 to Middle America, one West Coast artist 362 00:17:52,071 --> 00:17:54,549 will emerge as the voice of a generation. 363 00:17:54,573 --> 00:17:56,134 -Tupac Shakur. 364 00:17:56,158 --> 00:17:59,179 -I think of Tupac as, you know, 365 00:17:59,203 --> 00:18:03,392 the most important and influential artist 366 00:18:03,416 --> 00:18:05,102 in the history of hip-hop. 367 00:18:05,126 --> 00:18:07,521 He was able to reach from the bottom of the streets 368 00:18:07,545 --> 00:18:10,315 all the way up to the top of the suburbs, 369 00:18:10,339 --> 00:18:11,692 and people followed him. 370 00:18:11,716 --> 00:18:14,319 -Everything I ever sang, whether it's good or bad 371 00:18:14,343 --> 00:18:15,696 is coming from my heart. - Yes. 372 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:17,364 -And if it's wrong, then, you know, 373 00:18:17,388 --> 00:18:19,449 God ain't finished with me yet. Let him check me. 374 00:18:19,473 --> 00:18:20,784 -He was very smart. 375 00:18:20,808 --> 00:18:23,787 From the time he was 10 years old, 376 00:18:23,811 --> 00:18:26,623 His mom made him read all of "The New York Times" 377 00:18:26,647 --> 00:18:29,209 from cover to cover every single day. 378 00:18:29,233 --> 00:18:30,585 -There was just something compelling 379 00:18:30,609 --> 00:18:32,421 about his personality, right? 380 00:18:32,445 --> 00:18:34,756 That... That thing that you can't teach, 381 00:18:34,780 --> 00:18:39,469 that kind of "it" factor... Tupac had it. 382 00:18:39,493 --> 00:18:44,599 Tupac, wordplay, passion, purpose, 383 00:18:44,623 --> 00:18:48,186 militant, a little bit of crazy, but I liked it. 384 00:18:48,210 --> 00:18:51,315 It all worked. His sauce was right. 385 00:18:51,339 --> 00:18:53,567 -Yeah, I-I like to think I'm a rebel. 386 00:18:53,591 --> 00:18:55,861 I'm revolutionary. 387 00:18:55,885 --> 00:18:58,238 -Despite hailing from different coasts, 388 00:18:58,262 --> 00:19:00,574 Biggie hooks up with L.A.-based Tupac, 389 00:19:00,598 --> 00:19:04,202 who becomes both a friend and a mentor. 390 00:19:04,226 --> 00:19:07,581 -I remember when we did Da Brat's video 391 00:19:07,605 --> 00:19:10,417 "Give it to You," he was on set. 392 00:19:10,441 --> 00:19:12,377 Him in B.I.G. at this time was friends. 393 00:19:12,401 --> 00:19:14,504 I never seen nobody smoke as many blunts 394 00:19:14,528 --> 00:19:17,632 in 25 minutes in my life, him and B.I.G together. 395 00:19:17,656 --> 00:19:20,635 I'm sitting there probably high as... 396 00:19:20,659 --> 00:19:23,597 and I don't smoke, but whatever. 397 00:19:23,621 --> 00:19:27,476 -As his career soars, Biggie turns to Tupac for advice 398 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,311 in navigating the business. 399 00:19:29,335 --> 00:19:30,896 -You know, he's a leader, you know, 400 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,857 somebody that people respected and... and listened to. 401 00:19:33,881 --> 00:19:37,152 I had a vision which I think was similar to Tupac's 402 00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:39,529 of how the bigger hip-hop could become, 403 00:19:39,553 --> 00:19:41,615 you can make it big and successful, 404 00:19:41,639 --> 00:19:46,328 but still keep it authentic and become a force 405 00:19:46,352 --> 00:19:48,914 to revolutionize and change the world. 406 00:19:48,938 --> 00:19:51,917 -And one of the most powerful players in the music industry, 407 00:19:51,941 --> 00:19:55,379 mega producer Quincy Jones, seems to want to help 408 00:19:55,403 --> 00:19:57,381 Mays realize his vision. 409 00:19:57,405 --> 00:19:59,466 -We get called out to a meeting 410 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:02,260 at Quincy Jones' home in... in Beverly Hills. 411 00:20:02,284 --> 00:20:05,430 We're you know, we're whisked from the airport in limousines 412 00:20:05,454 --> 00:20:08,517 up into this mansion in... in the Hills. 413 00:20:08,541 --> 00:20:10,811 And he says, you know, "Thank you guys for coming. 414 00:20:10,835 --> 00:20:12,896 And, you know, really excited, 415 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:16,525 you know, but I want to let you know what I've decided. 416 00:20:16,549 --> 00:20:19,569 -And then Mays lives a line from a Tupac song. 417 00:20:19,593 --> 00:20:23,848 "Perhaps I was blind to the facts, stabbed in the back." 418 00:20:28,686 --> 00:20:30,747 -In 1993, as Bill Clinton's inauguration is celebrated 419 00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:34,334 with a pop-music-filled concert produced by Quincy Jones... 420 00:20:34,358 --> 00:20:35,919 {\an8}♪♪ 421 00:20:35,943 --> 00:20:39,589 America's youth is tuned in to a very different sound. 422 00:20:39,613 --> 00:20:42,467 Hip-hop is growing fast, 423 00:20:42,491 --> 00:20:45,846 and the 60-year-old Jones wants in on the action. 424 00:20:45,870 --> 00:20:49,850 -Quincy is an amazing legend, but at that time, 425 00:20:49,874 --> 00:20:52,519 {\an8}what I gathered from listening to him 426 00:20:52,543 --> 00:20:54,229 {\an8}and other people working for him 427 00:20:54,253 --> 00:20:55,897 {\an8}was he really didn't understand hip-hop 428 00:20:55,921 --> 00:20:58,733 and the true kind of DNA of hip-hop. 429 00:20:58,757 --> 00:21:01,486 -Quincy reaches out to Dave Mays and his partners 430 00:21:01,510 --> 00:21:03,905 to invest in "The Source" magazine. 431 00:21:03,929 --> 00:21:05,907 But when they all meet, it turns out 432 00:21:05,931 --> 00:21:08,577 he was not looking for a partner. 433 00:21:08,601 --> 00:21:10,745 -And he says, "You know, I want to let you know 434 00:21:10,769 --> 00:21:14,583 that what I've decided to do is start my own magazine, 435 00:21:14,607 --> 00:21:16,960 but I'm prepared 436 00:21:16,984 --> 00:21:22,424 to buy you guys out for $600,000 437 00:21:22,448 --> 00:21:26,970 and give you guys all, you know, jobs working for me." 438 00:21:26,994 --> 00:21:31,808 And I think some of... Some of my partners 439 00:21:31,832 --> 00:21:34,603 were actually considering the offer. 440 00:21:34,627 --> 00:21:38,273 I was really angry and upset, 441 00:21:38,297 --> 00:21:43,010 but, you know, politely turned down the offer. 442 00:21:46,805 --> 00:21:49,367 With the deep pockets of Time Warner backing him, 443 00:21:49,391 --> 00:21:52,037 Quincy launches a competitor to "The Source," 444 00:21:52,061 --> 00:21:53,788 "Vibe" magazine. 445 00:21:53,812 --> 00:21:56,333 [ Cheers and applause ] 446 00:21:56,357 --> 00:22:00,795 The first issue features rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg on the cover. 447 00:22:00,819 --> 00:22:02,923 -There were a lot of people that predicted at the time 448 00:22:02,947 --> 00:22:04,758 this was gonna be the end of "The Source." 449 00:22:04,782 --> 00:22:06,718 How is this, you know, little independent magazine 450 00:22:06,742 --> 00:22:09,429 gonna be able to survive? 451 00:22:09,453 --> 00:22:13,975 - "Vibe" was like one of the first commercial magazines, 452 00:22:13,999 --> 00:22:16,937 you know, with advertising and just looked really slick 453 00:22:16,961 --> 00:22:20,065 {\an8}and really cool artwork. And of course, 454 00:22:20,089 --> 00:22:24,528 "Source" was a little grittier and more street and more heart, 455 00:22:24,552 --> 00:22:25,987 more edgy. 456 00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:28,698 -Hip-hop and become big enough 457 00:22:28,722 --> 00:22:33,411 {\an8}that you could have both a "Source" and "Vibe" in the room 458 00:22:33,435 --> 00:22:35,580 {\an8}and not feel as though one or the other, 459 00:22:35,604 --> 00:22:37,832 {\an8}right, had to be the dominant portrait 460 00:22:37,856 --> 00:22:40,460 {\an8}of what's happening in hip-hop. 461 00:22:40,484 --> 00:22:43,838 -While "The Source" and "Vibe" battle it out on newsstands. 462 00:22:43,862 --> 00:22:49,344 {\an8}East Coast and West Coast hip-hop artists also go to war. 463 00:22:49,368 --> 00:22:52,430 The one-time friendship between Biggie and Tupac Shakur 464 00:22:52,454 --> 00:22:57,852 is an early casualty when they turn against each other. 465 00:22:57,876 --> 00:23:02,524 On November 30th, 1994, Tupac is shot while being robbed 466 00:23:02,548 --> 00:23:06,486 in the lobby of New York's Quad Recording Studios. 467 00:23:06,510 --> 00:23:08,446 [ Indistinct police radio chatter ] 468 00:23:08,470 --> 00:23:11,116 He believes it's a set-up by East Coast rivals 469 00:23:11,140 --> 00:23:15,120 and points to Biggie and Bad Boy Records' Sean Puffy Combs, 470 00:23:15,144 --> 00:23:18,039 who are in the building at the time of his shooting, 471 00:23:18,063 --> 00:23:20,083 as somehow being involved. 472 00:23:20,107 --> 00:23:22,586 {\an8}♪♪ 473 00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:25,672 -Just keep it tight, that's all. 474 00:23:25,696 --> 00:23:28,633 -Mr. Shakur, how are you this morning? 475 00:23:28,657 --> 00:23:30,927 -Biggie and Puffy deny any involvement, 476 00:23:30,951 --> 00:23:35,724 but "Vibe" magazine adds fuel to the growing controversy. 477 00:23:35,748 --> 00:23:38,935 They send journalist Kevin Powell to interview Tupac, 478 00:23:38,959 --> 00:23:41,479 now in prison on sexual assault charges, 479 00:23:41,503 --> 00:23:44,399 about the supposed ambush. 480 00:23:44,423 --> 00:23:47,110 Powell would later tell "Vibe" that Tupac had no love 481 00:23:47,134 --> 00:23:50,030 for his former friend. - I remember saying to Tupac, 482 00:23:50,054 --> 00:23:51,990 {\an8}"Why don't you all just come together and, you know, 483 00:23:52,014 --> 00:23:54,409 {\an8}Pac said something that made me so mad, man. 484 00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:56,745 {\an8}I'll never forget... he said, yellow M&Ms and green M&Ms 485 00:23:56,769 --> 00:23:58,580 {\an8}don't come together. 486 00:23:58,604 --> 00:24:02,917 {\an8}♪♪ 487 00:24:02,941 --> 00:24:05,253 -A few months later, Biggie releases a single 488 00:24:05,277 --> 00:24:06,921 titled "Who Shot Ya?" 489 00:24:06,945 --> 00:24:09,966 imagining himself in the role of the killer. 490 00:24:09,990 --> 00:24:11,760 Though the track was recorded months 491 00:24:11,784 --> 00:24:13,928 before the Quad Studio shooting 492 00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:17,932 and doesn't reference Tupac, none of that seems to matter. 493 00:24:17,956 --> 00:24:21,436 Tupac takes it as a direct attack. 494 00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:24,439 {\an8}-It was very serious. These guys were very serious. 495 00:24:24,463 --> 00:24:25,774 {\an8}Well, here's the thing. 496 00:24:25,798 --> 00:24:27,150 When you are talking about the streets, 497 00:24:27,174 --> 00:24:29,110 if you're living that hip-hop life, 498 00:24:29,134 --> 00:24:31,029 you're... you're around people live in that world, 499 00:24:31,053 --> 00:24:33,657 there's gonna be some things. 500 00:24:33,681 --> 00:24:35,950 -With bicoastal tensions simmering, 501 00:24:35,974 --> 00:24:37,869 "The Source" hopes to lower the temperature 502 00:24:37,893 --> 00:24:39,663 by bringing the community together 503 00:24:39,687 --> 00:24:42,957 in a celebration of the music. 504 00:24:42,981 --> 00:24:45,085 The first televised "Source" Awards is held 505 00:24:45,109 --> 00:24:48,129 at Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theater. 506 00:24:48,153 --> 00:24:51,883 -'95 is the kind of most famous "Source" Awards. 507 00:24:51,907 --> 00:24:55,512 Of course, everybody remembers those tense moments 508 00:24:55,536 --> 00:24:58,640 where Suge Knight got on stage in front of, you know, 509 00:24:58,664 --> 00:25:00,850 an audience of five thousand people in New York City 510 00:25:00,874 --> 00:25:06,606 and basically took a shot at... at Bad Boy and at Puffy. 511 00:25:06,630 --> 00:25:09,818 -Suge mocks Puffy for inserting himself into the songs 512 00:25:09,842 --> 00:25:12,904 and videos of Bad Boy's artists. 513 00:25:12,928 --> 00:25:15,115 -Any artist out there want to be an artist 514 00:25:15,139 --> 00:25:17,492 and want to stay a star, don't want to... 515 00:25:17,516 --> 00:25:19,494 Won't to have to worry about the executive producer 516 00:25:19,518 --> 00:25:24,541 trying to be all in the videos, all on the records, 517 00:25:24,565 --> 00:25:26,960 dancing, come to Death Row. 518 00:25:26,984 --> 00:25:32,006 [ Audience boos ] 519 00:25:32,030 --> 00:25:34,843 -It got like personal right there. 520 00:25:34,867 --> 00:25:37,178 Diddy was synonymous with New York... like partying, 521 00:25:37,202 --> 00:25:39,264 having a good time, putting my artists on, 522 00:25:39,288 --> 00:25:43,101 being in the videos, you know, having fun. 523 00:25:43,125 --> 00:25:46,187 {\an8}West Coast is like, "Nah, we don't do all that. 524 00:25:46,211 --> 00:25:48,523 {\an8}We... We real out here, right?" 525 00:25:48,547 --> 00:25:51,192 -Targeting Diddy in that moment, I would say, 526 00:25:51,216 --> 00:25:54,529 arguably, has nothing to do with hip-hop, right, 527 00:25:54,553 --> 00:25:58,032 and just has everything to do with these two personalities 528 00:25:58,056 --> 00:26:02,245 clashing over who was gonna have a dominant cultural footprint. 529 00:26:02,269 --> 00:26:04,080 -Dr. Dre! 530 00:26:04,104 --> 00:26:06,040 -Tensions escalate when Snoop Dogg 531 00:26:06,064 --> 00:26:07,792 calls out the East Coast audience 532 00:26:07,816 --> 00:26:09,794 for not respecting the West. 533 00:26:09,818 --> 00:26:12,964 -The East Coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg 534 00:26:12,988 --> 00:26:14,549 and Death Row. 535 00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:16,801 Y'all don't love us. 536 00:26:16,825 --> 00:26:18,887 Y'all don't love us. 537 00:26:18,911 --> 00:26:21,931 -Lines got drawn, and sides kind of were taken, 538 00:26:21,955 --> 00:26:27,187 and... and a rivalry developed between two camps, 539 00:26:27,211 --> 00:26:31,232 two labels... the Bad Boy camp and the Death Row camp... 540 00:26:31,256 --> 00:26:34,194 And then the rivalry between Suge and Puffy. 541 00:26:34,218 --> 00:26:36,696 You know, it caused a lot of... a lot of tension 542 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,031 and a lot of uproar. 543 00:26:38,055 --> 00:26:40,825 But there was no violence that night. 544 00:26:40,849 --> 00:26:43,286 There wasn't even, you know, a punch thrown. 545 00:26:43,310 --> 00:26:46,873 -That was the match that lit the stick of dynamite to me. 546 00:26:46,897 --> 00:26:50,084 -What we saw was these wars... Literal wars, 547 00:26:50,108 --> 00:26:54,071 shootouts between the East Coast and the West Coast. 548 00:27:00,077 --> 00:27:01,930 -As rap music surges to the top of the charts, 549 00:27:01,954 --> 00:27:04,974 politicians become its most outspoken critics. 550 00:27:04,998 --> 00:27:07,936 {\an8}-This is frankly offensive to me, 551 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,773 {\an8}and I think to any parent, it is nothing but filth. 552 00:27:11,797 --> 00:27:13,775 -It's negative. It's in the wrong direction. 553 00:27:13,799 --> 00:27:15,318 It's gonna cause people to get killed. 554 00:27:15,342 --> 00:27:16,945 It doesn't belong out there. 555 00:27:16,969 --> 00:27:20,114 -It's a type of music that can pump somebody up 556 00:27:20,138 --> 00:27:23,368 to the point where they have total hatred. 557 00:27:23,392 --> 00:27:24,911 {\an8}-And so you think about this 558 00:27:24,935 --> 00:27:26,621 {\an8}in terms of a political context, right? 559 00:27:26,645 --> 00:27:28,122 This is the era 560 00:27:28,146 --> 00:27:31,960 of Bill Clinton's infamous crime bill. 561 00:27:31,984 --> 00:27:35,129 -Let us roll up our sleeves to roll back 562 00:27:35,153 --> 00:27:41,135 this awful tide of violence and reduce crime in our country. 563 00:27:41,159 --> 00:27:42,887 -Under the Clinton administration, 564 00:27:42,911 --> 00:27:46,975 the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 565 00:27:46,999 --> 00:27:51,020 results in longer and harsher prison sentences. 566 00:27:51,044 --> 00:27:54,983 -And the crime bill was a response to perception 567 00:27:55,007 --> 00:27:57,402 to rising crime rates 568 00:27:57,426 --> 00:28:00,738 and this fear of Black youth that were out of control. 569 00:28:00,762 --> 00:28:04,284 -I know when you're home and when you're not. 570 00:28:04,308 --> 00:28:06,244 -Suddenly, you're seeing all these commercials 571 00:28:06,268 --> 00:28:09,122 for home security systems. - 24 hours a day. 572 00:28:09,146 --> 00:28:10,790 -At the same time 573 00:28:10,814 --> 00:28:13,167 that white Americans are looking at these images, 574 00:28:13,191 --> 00:28:16,170 they're watching television shows like "Cops," 575 00:28:16,194 --> 00:28:18,882 which double down on Black criminality, 576 00:28:18,906 --> 00:28:23,136 you know, so Black men are seen as both prey and threat. 577 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,179 -Before blogs and social media, 578 00:28:25,203 --> 00:28:27,807 print magazines dictate the story. 579 00:28:27,831 --> 00:28:31,185 But while "The Source" preaches the positive messages in rap, 580 00:28:31,209 --> 00:28:34,314 their competitor, Quincy Jones' "Vibe" magazine, 581 00:28:34,338 --> 00:28:38,818 wallows in the East versus West clashes. 582 00:28:38,842 --> 00:28:40,904 -The media fed into it a little bit. 583 00:28:40,928 --> 00:28:42,280 You know what I mean? They leaned into it. 584 00:28:42,304 --> 00:28:44,407 And so it fueled the flames. 585 00:28:44,431 --> 00:28:48,036 So people were, you know, curating this narrative of, 586 00:28:48,060 --> 00:28:51,247 "Is there a division? Who's better? 587 00:28:51,271 --> 00:28:54,751 Is their hip-hop any less or more hip-hop, 588 00:28:54,775 --> 00:28:56,210 the New York hip-hop?" 589 00:28:56,234 --> 00:28:59,339 {\an8}So that... was they created a movie in a movie. 590 00:28:59,363 --> 00:29:05,136 {\an8}And unfortunately, some of the artists got hurt by it, 591 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,305 people have lost their lives over it. 592 00:29:07,329 --> 00:29:09,724 -The story's been told many times, you know, 593 00:29:09,748 --> 00:29:11,225 about "Vibe" and the covers 594 00:29:11,249 --> 00:29:14,228 {\an8}and the stories they printed that people have felt, 595 00:29:14,252 --> 00:29:17,941 {\an8}you know, contributed to sensationalizing 596 00:29:17,965 --> 00:29:20,401 and... and fueling that beef in a way. 597 00:29:20,425 --> 00:29:24,948 Like it's February, '96 cover, Live from Death Row." 598 00:29:24,972 --> 00:29:29,452 The way corporations, whether radio stations or magazines, 599 00:29:29,476 --> 00:29:33,206 invested in... in the East Coast/West Coast battle 600 00:29:33,230 --> 00:29:36,876 contributed to that moment, as did a celebrity culture. 601 00:29:36,900 --> 00:29:39,754 {\an8}-These kinds of problems are still something that's very much 602 00:29:39,778 --> 00:29:42,924 {\an8}in the sphere of the lives that... 603 00:29:42,948 --> 00:29:44,342 {\an8}that these rappers are... Are living. 604 00:29:44,366 --> 00:29:47,095 {\an8}-They were making these guys believe 605 00:29:47,119 --> 00:29:49,305 {\an8}that they were like serious gangsters. 606 00:29:49,329 --> 00:29:51,891 {\an8}They weren't really serious gangsters. 607 00:29:51,915 --> 00:29:53,434 {\an8}Not really. 608 00:29:53,458 --> 00:29:55,937 {\an8}♪♪ 609 00:29:55,961 --> 00:29:58,106 -Sensing things spinning out of control, 610 00:29:58,130 --> 00:30:01,275 Quincy Jones holds the "Vibe" Summit in New York. 611 00:30:01,299 --> 00:30:06,114 In attendance are Suge Knight and Dr. Dre, Puffy and Biggie. 612 00:30:06,138 --> 00:30:08,282 In contrast to his magazine. 613 00:30:08,306 --> 00:30:12,120 Jones preaches taking hip-hop in a more positive direction, 614 00:30:12,144 --> 00:30:15,415 but the summit proves to be too little, too late. 615 00:30:15,439 --> 00:30:21,129 {\an8}♪♪ 616 00:30:21,153 --> 00:30:23,006 Tupac releases "Hit 'Em Up," 617 00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:26,134 a diss track aimed at Puffy's Bad Boy crew. 618 00:30:26,158 --> 00:30:28,011 In the song, he claims to have slept 619 00:30:28,035 --> 00:30:31,806 with Biggie's estranged wife, singer Faith Evans. 620 00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:34,017 In another interview with "Vibe," 621 00:30:34,041 --> 00:30:36,227 Tupac continues to lash out at Biggie 622 00:30:36,251 --> 00:30:39,147 when he talks about schooling his one-time protegé. 623 00:30:39,171 --> 00:30:40,356 -I'm just mad at my little brother 624 00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:42,150 when he don't respect me. 625 00:30:42,174 --> 00:30:43,985 Now, when you don't respect me, I'm gonna spank your ass. 626 00:30:44,009 --> 00:30:46,195 I don't give a... how rich you got on the block. 627 00:30:46,219 --> 00:30:49,157 I'm your big brother. I will break your big ass down. 628 00:30:49,181 --> 00:30:51,826 -I believe, in that last period of his life, 629 00:30:51,850 --> 00:30:55,329 he made some very aggressive and... and violent music. 630 00:30:55,353 --> 00:30:57,331 And again, that's a lot of what people, 631 00:30:57,355 --> 00:30:59,417 unfortunately, remember him for. 632 00:30:59,441 --> 00:31:02,962 But if you listen to a lot of his other music 633 00:31:02,986 --> 00:31:07,216 and you listen to the powerful messages and ideas 634 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,054 that he conveyed for many years through his... his music 635 00:31:11,078 --> 00:31:14,390 and his lyrics, he was a revolutionary. 636 00:31:14,414 --> 00:31:17,101 -The East Coast/West Coast tensions boil over 637 00:31:17,125 --> 00:31:19,312 at the '96 Soul Train Awards, 638 00:31:19,336 --> 00:31:23,191 forcing host Don Cornelius to get involved. 639 00:31:23,215 --> 00:31:27,153 -My assistant said, "Tupac and Biggie 640 00:31:27,177 --> 00:31:29,363 are in the parking lot, and they're riding... 641 00:31:29,387 --> 00:31:32,617 They're circling around each other brandishing guns." 642 00:31:32,641 --> 00:31:34,452 And I went got Don Cornelius, said, "Don, 643 00:31:34,476 --> 00:31:36,871 you better come out here and put this out, 644 00:31:36,895 --> 00:31:40,166 'cause I don't know what these brothers are gonna do." 645 00:31:40,190 --> 00:31:41,417 - "The Source" did a cover 646 00:31:41,441 --> 00:31:43,419 during the middle of this with Suge Knight. 647 00:31:43,443 --> 00:31:45,963 It ain't no East Coast/ West Coast thing. 648 00:31:45,987 --> 00:31:49,967 I was very cognizant that a street kind of beef 649 00:31:49,991 --> 00:31:51,552 was coming into the industry, 650 00:31:51,576 --> 00:31:55,306 you know, with gang members and other people involved. 651 00:31:55,330 --> 00:32:01,521 So we went out of our way to get Suge to talk and to say that 652 00:32:01,545 --> 00:32:05,441 and to put that on the front cover of the magazine. 653 00:32:05,465 --> 00:32:10,446 -I saw Tupac probably a month or two before he was killed, 654 00:32:10,470 --> 00:32:12,532 and I say, "Hey, man, what's up?" Blah, blah, blah. 655 00:32:12,556 --> 00:32:15,118 'Cause we knew each other, but he just had a look... 656 00:32:15,142 --> 00:32:17,912 Everything that he had dealt with in life. 657 00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:20,498 He just had that look. 658 00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:24,627 It wasn't the same glowing eyes that I had seen. 659 00:32:24,651 --> 00:32:27,130 {\an8}♪♪ 660 00:32:27,154 --> 00:32:29,549 -On the night of September 7th, 1996, 661 00:32:29,573 --> 00:32:32,593 after attending a boxing match at the MGM Grand 662 00:32:32,617 --> 00:32:34,679 in Las Vegas, Tupac Shakur 663 00:32:34,703 --> 00:32:38,015 is critically wounded in a drive-by shooting. 664 00:32:38,039 --> 00:32:41,936 Six days later, he dies in the hospital. 665 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:43,688 -It hurt. Of course, it hurt. 666 00:32:43,712 --> 00:32:45,439 {\an8}Any time one of my kids... 667 00:32:45,463 --> 00:32:47,441 {\an8}'cause that's the way I look at them... 668 00:32:47,465 --> 00:32:51,696 {\an8}die for whatever reason, it hurts. 669 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,408 -I would have loved to see Tupac's evolution. 670 00:32:55,432 --> 00:32:58,494 I mean, he... only 25, 26 years old. 671 00:32:58,518 --> 00:33:00,454 I mean, what would he have been at 30? 672 00:33:00,478 --> 00:33:02,498 He'd be 40-something now. 673 00:33:02,522 --> 00:33:06,377 So, you know, I always got, like, love in there. 674 00:33:06,401 --> 00:33:10,464 You know, I... just, ugh! It's tough. 675 00:33:10,488 --> 00:33:13,718 -It was an awful feeling when I heard that he had passed, 676 00:33:13,742 --> 00:33:15,553 You know, of course, immediately we had 677 00:33:15,577 --> 00:33:18,306 to change the plans for the magazine 678 00:33:18,330 --> 00:33:21,726 and put together, you know, a whole tribute package about him. 679 00:33:21,750 --> 00:33:25,438 You know, you wanted to make sure that you did an amazing job 680 00:33:25,462 --> 00:33:29,650 for him in, you know, commemorating who he was 681 00:33:29,674 --> 00:33:32,486 and... and what his contributions were. 682 00:33:32,510 --> 00:33:35,698 -In the months following Tupac's death, theories abound 683 00:33:35,722 --> 00:33:37,742 on who pulled the trigger. 684 00:33:37,766 --> 00:33:41,037 All eyes land on Bad Boy's East Coast crew, 685 00:33:41,061 --> 00:33:43,623 but Tupac's murderer remains at large. 686 00:33:43,647 --> 00:33:47,001 -I think it's really sad, too, that there is no one out there, 687 00:33:47,025 --> 00:33:50,087 or the claim is, no one out there saw anything. 688 00:33:50,111 --> 00:33:52,506 I think that somebody saw something, and they should 689 00:33:52,530 --> 00:33:55,259 most definitely come forth and say something. 690 00:33:55,283 --> 00:33:57,178 -For Biggie, it's a sign that it's time 691 00:33:57,202 --> 00:33:59,388 to put the rap beefs behind him. 692 00:33:59,412 --> 00:34:01,015 -So I'm gonna just be "forgive and forget." 693 00:34:01,039 --> 00:34:02,350 -Right, right. 694 00:34:02,374 --> 00:34:03,774 -But the realization comes too late. 695 00:34:09,381 --> 00:34:11,025 -In case you haven't heard, 696 00:34:11,049 --> 00:34:12,735 it's been all over the media, all over the news, 697 00:34:12,759 --> 00:34:15,655 Tupac... rapper Tupac Shakur has passed away. 698 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:17,156 -Today, hundreds line the streets 699 00:34:17,180 --> 00:34:18,783 outside a Nation of Islam school 700 00:34:18,807 --> 00:34:21,786 to pay their respects to the slain rapper. 701 00:34:21,810 --> 00:34:24,538 -I'm just here to show my respect for Tupac. 702 00:34:24,562 --> 00:34:26,374 Brother was a good brother. 703 00:34:26,398 --> 00:34:28,292 -His ways is really give us strength to keep on moving 704 00:34:28,316 --> 00:34:29,585 and look forward to another day. 705 00:34:29,609 --> 00:34:32,380 -It's still a lot of negativity out here. 706 00:34:32,404 --> 00:34:35,174 And the violence is gonna take more 707 00:34:35,198 --> 00:34:37,051 than just Tupac's death to stop. 708 00:34:37,075 --> 00:34:38,761 -I still don't think people's gonna learn from it. 709 00:34:38,785 --> 00:34:40,680 I still think a lot of stuff is gonna go on, 710 00:34:40,704 --> 00:34:42,682 a lot of killing, a lot of violence still. 711 00:34:42,706 --> 00:34:44,642 They're not gonna learn nothing. 712 00:34:44,666 --> 00:34:46,727 -While the hip-hop world is still reeling 713 00:34:46,751 --> 00:34:52,566 from the death of Tupac Shakur, another is soon to follow. 714 00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:54,568 -The night Biggie was shot, 715 00:34:54,592 --> 00:34:59,198 again, it was another Soul Train party. 716 00:34:59,222 --> 00:35:04,620 I was excited because we were going to be at the same table 717 00:35:04,644 --> 00:35:09,583 with Sean Combs, with P. Diddy. 718 00:35:09,607 --> 00:35:12,336 But for some reason, my husband said that night, 719 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:14,547 "No, I don't think we should go." 720 00:35:14,571 --> 00:35:15,840 Really strange... that night... 721 00:35:15,864 --> 00:35:20,761 And he was insistent that we do not go. 722 00:35:20,785 --> 00:35:23,180 [ Siren wailing ] 723 00:35:23,204 --> 00:35:25,266 -Six months after Tupac's death, 724 00:35:25,290 --> 00:35:28,352 24-year-old notorious B.I.G. is murdered 725 00:35:28,376 --> 00:35:30,104 in a drive-by, gunned down 726 00:35:30,128 --> 00:35:32,773 after a Soul Train party in Los Angeles. 727 00:35:32,797 --> 00:35:35,192 -The rapper's car was riddled with bullets, 728 00:35:35,216 --> 00:35:37,737 leaving him so badly wounded that he was pronounced dead 729 00:35:37,761 --> 00:35:40,555 at the nearby Cedars Sinai Hospital. 730 00:35:43,516 --> 00:35:45,453 -I don't know if people loved B.I.G. everywhere, 731 00:35:45,477 --> 00:35:47,455 but New York took an "L" on that. 732 00:35:47,479 --> 00:35:49,874 Like, B.I.G. meant so much to people, 733 00:35:49,898 --> 00:35:54,628 you felt the pain of a funeral of like Mandela. 734 00:35:54,652 --> 00:35:56,213 [ Cheers and applause ] 735 00:35:56,237 --> 00:36:02,303 [ Horns honking ] 736 00:36:02,327 --> 00:36:05,639 -To see people on the ground crying and stuff, 737 00:36:05,663 --> 00:36:07,433 you're like, Damn!" 738 00:36:07,457 --> 00:36:10,436 It was big to people. 739 00:36:10,460 --> 00:36:12,772 -I would want him to be remembered 740 00:36:12,796 --> 00:36:19,653 as one of the most talented and gifted artists of his time. 741 00:36:19,677 --> 00:36:21,572 -To the hip-hop community, it was a big loss 742 00:36:21,596 --> 00:36:23,366 because he was like one of the best artists 743 00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:26,369 that, you know, ever rapped or was ever in hip-hop. 744 00:36:26,393 --> 00:36:28,662 -He was a good man. He was a generous man. 745 00:36:28,686 --> 00:36:31,523 -It's a sad day. It's a sad day. 746 00:36:33,441 --> 00:36:38,172 -Another devastating loss, and the blame game continues. 747 00:36:38,196 --> 00:36:40,383 -There are questions whether Biggie's murder 748 00:36:40,407 --> 00:36:43,552 may have been retaliation for the drive-by slaying 749 00:36:43,576 --> 00:36:47,473 of his archrival, California rapper Tupac Shakur. 750 00:36:47,497 --> 00:36:51,685 -Some spoke of an East Coast/ West Coast rapper. 751 00:36:51,709 --> 00:36:54,188 -So this is another... Another round fired 752 00:36:54,212 --> 00:36:55,940 in this war of the rappers? 753 00:36:55,964 --> 00:36:59,360 -Well, we... we hope that we're not getting to that situation. 754 00:36:59,384 --> 00:37:00,820 This is a very tragic event, 755 00:37:00,844 --> 00:37:03,614 and it has similarities to another shooting. 756 00:37:03,638 --> 00:37:05,741 But there were a lot of people that were in the area, 757 00:37:05,765 --> 00:37:08,577 and we're hopeful that someone will come forward 758 00:37:08,601 --> 00:37:09,870 and give us information 759 00:37:09,894 --> 00:37:12,540 so that we can close this case. 760 00:37:12,564 --> 00:37:14,667 -It might not have to do with Death Row and Bad Boy, 761 00:37:14,691 --> 00:37:17,711 {\an1}but, you know, it got to do with East Coast/West Coast for sure. 762 00:37:17,735 --> 00:37:19,338 For sure, yeah. 763 00:37:19,362 --> 00:37:21,257 Hopefully, this isn't anything that has to do 764 00:37:21,281 --> 00:37:23,300 with East Coast, West Coast. 765 00:37:23,324 --> 00:37:29,557 -People looked at Biggie being shot as retaliation for Tupac. 766 00:37:29,581 --> 00:37:32,393 So, again, everybody's guessing. I don't know. 767 00:37:32,417 --> 00:37:34,687 -And then again, we look back at that. 768 00:37:34,711 --> 00:37:38,566 They never found the person who killed him either. 769 00:37:38,590 --> 00:37:40,317 What's that all about? 770 00:37:40,341 --> 00:37:42,361 -We're here with him. You understand what I'm saying? 771 00:37:42,385 --> 00:37:44,697 We're gonna carry on his legacy regardless. 772 00:37:44,721 --> 00:37:45,990 You understand what I'm saying? 773 00:37:46,014 --> 00:37:48,325 After the cameras and everything is gone, 774 00:37:48,349 --> 00:37:50,911 we're carrying it on, 'cause we live this life after death. 775 00:37:50,935 --> 00:37:53,998 We make that life after death happen. 776 00:37:54,022 --> 00:37:56,876 -As fans mourn, they turn away from the headlines 777 00:37:56,900 --> 00:38:00,337 and find another way to celebrate their heroes. 778 00:38:00,361 --> 00:38:01,964 You could feel the impact 779 00:38:01,988 --> 00:38:05,092 that it had on... On people here in... in L.A. 780 00:38:05,116 --> 00:38:07,344 Murals started going up for Pac, 781 00:38:07,368 --> 00:38:11,307 and you know, the brothers on the corner selling T-shirts. 782 00:38:11,331 --> 00:38:13,601 -And immediately, right, you start to see 783 00:38:13,625 --> 00:38:18,355 these ghetto art depictions of Biggie and... and Tupac. 784 00:38:18,379 --> 00:38:21,775 And the way that we romanticize about them to death 785 00:38:21,799 --> 00:38:24,778 has a lot to do with the role that they played 786 00:38:24,802 --> 00:38:26,989 in the lives of young people at that time. 787 00:38:27,013 --> 00:38:28,908 -This artist says his crew is trying 788 00:38:28,932 --> 00:38:30,826 to convey a serious message. 789 00:38:30,850 --> 00:38:33,496 -The message behind it is, "One coast, one culture. 790 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:35,456 Stop the violence." 791 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:37,875 -Two of hip-hop's biggest stars dead, 792 00:38:37,899 --> 00:38:41,795 the music eclipsed by a sensational story. 793 00:38:41,819 --> 00:38:44,632 In the aftermath of the two rappers' deaths, 794 00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:47,676 hip-hop insiders point the finger at "Vibe" magazine 795 00:38:47,700 --> 00:38:51,847 for fueling the ongoing war between Tupac and Biggie. 796 00:38:51,871 --> 00:38:54,475 {\an8}-That East West crap, "Vibe" has to take a lot of... 797 00:38:54,499 --> 00:38:56,060 {\an8}they should have got a bullet. - Wow. 798 00:38:56,084 --> 00:38:57,811 {\an8}-They should have got a bullet. 799 00:38:57,835 --> 00:39:00,648 -In a tribute to Biggie, "The Source" asked the question 800 00:39:00,672 --> 00:39:02,483 on everyone's mind... 801 00:39:02,507 --> 00:39:04,985 How can hip-hop move past the violence? 802 00:39:05,009 --> 00:39:06,403 -I don't understand this. 803 00:39:06,427 --> 00:39:07,655 You know, I just don't understand it. 804 00:39:07,679 --> 00:39:08,948 I mean, this is a beautiful guy 805 00:39:08,972 --> 00:39:10,658 that got killed over nothing, really. 806 00:39:10,682 --> 00:39:12,952 -I don't think either the death of Tupac or Biggie 807 00:39:12,976 --> 00:39:17,498 was the result of street violence and street rivalries. 808 00:39:17,522 --> 00:39:21,669 That's, again, another myth that I believe has been painted 809 00:39:21,693 --> 00:39:24,922 for people to try to make people think 810 00:39:24,946 --> 00:39:28,801 about rap music in a very negative way. 811 00:39:28,825 --> 00:39:32,012 -Dave Mays has his own ideas about who was really behind 812 00:39:32,036 --> 00:39:36,100 the killings of hip-hop's two biggest stars. 813 00:39:36,124 --> 00:39:39,687 -In my opinion, there was other forces at play 814 00:39:39,711 --> 00:39:42,839 that became evident, you know, over time, years later. 815 00:39:48,553 --> 00:39:50,030 -As a founder of "The Source" magazine, 816 00:39:50,054 --> 00:39:51,824 Dave Mays was an eyewitness to the rise of hip-hop 817 00:39:51,848 --> 00:39:54,660 and the fall of two of its brightest lights. 818 00:39:54,684 --> 00:39:57,955 He has his own theories on who killed Tupac and Biggie. 819 00:39:57,979 --> 00:40:02,585 -You know, hip-hop was a very powerful force in mobilizing 820 00:40:02,609 --> 00:40:04,712 and empowering, you know, the Black community 821 00:40:04,736 --> 00:40:06,547 and... and unifying a lot of other people. 822 00:40:06,571 --> 00:40:09,675 And, you know, I believe that, you know, very early on 823 00:40:09,699 --> 00:40:14,722 it became a threat similar to the way Black Power movements 824 00:40:14,746 --> 00:40:17,433 in the '60s were viewed by... By the government. 825 00:40:17,457 --> 00:40:21,604 So I just believe there also was an element of government 826 00:40:21,628 --> 00:40:25,733 and law enforcement, you know, infiltration and involvement - 827 00:40:25,757 --> 00:40:28,736 The same thing we've all learned over the years 828 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:32,656 about what happened in the '60s with COINTELPRO. 829 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,075 - "The Source" still tracks what's happening 830 00:40:35,099 --> 00:40:37,578 in the world of hip-hop, including the closing 831 00:40:37,602 --> 00:40:39,913 of West Coast-based Death Row Records 832 00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:43,917 after Suge Knight is sent to prison on assault charges. 833 00:40:43,941 --> 00:40:46,920 The magazine also documented the many hits released 834 00:40:46,944 --> 00:40:50,615 by East Coast-based Bad Boy Records... 835 00:40:52,450 --> 00:40:55,429 including the song and video for "I'll Be Missing You," 836 00:40:55,453 --> 00:40:58,057 a tribute to Biggie. 837 00:40:58,081 --> 00:41:01,018 And while Mays left "The Source" in 2006, 838 00:41:01,042 --> 00:41:03,103 the magazine continues its mission 839 00:41:03,127 --> 00:41:07,107 and remains the longest running voice in hip-hop journalism. 840 00:41:07,131 --> 00:41:08,776 -I don't think hip-hop has ever died. 841 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:10,611 I mean, I think that's the beauty of it, 842 00:41:10,635 --> 00:41:12,780 is that hip-hop will never die. 843 00:41:12,804 --> 00:41:14,156 -Rap music is getting to a point 844 00:41:14,180 --> 00:41:16,533 where everybody has beefs with each other, 845 00:41:16,557 --> 00:41:20,954 {\an1}and it's just getting to a point where it's getting out of hand. 846 00:41:20,978 --> 00:41:27,002 -I think that hip-hop learned a valuable lesson after B.I.G. 847 00:41:27,026 --> 00:41:28,837 and Tupac's death. 848 00:41:28,861 --> 00:41:30,839 We're all doing the same thing, 849 00:41:30,863 --> 00:41:32,966 trying to, you know, feed our families. 850 00:41:32,990 --> 00:41:35,636 We're trying to make hit records. 851 00:41:35,660 --> 00:41:37,471 We're trying to blow up. 852 00:41:37,495 --> 00:41:38,972 -We never had a problem. 853 00:41:38,996 --> 00:41:42,184 We're just speaking about it now because enough is enough. 854 00:41:42,208 --> 00:41:44,895 -If the East/West thing would have kept going, 855 00:41:44,919 --> 00:41:46,730 it would have just got worse and worse. 856 00:41:46,754 --> 00:41:51,193 So I think that just said, "Wait, stop. 857 00:41:51,217 --> 00:41:56,657 Reset. Woosah. Let's go forward." 858 00:41:56,681 --> 00:41:59,118 -After Biggie and Pac died, 859 00:41:59,142 --> 00:42:03,122 what did happen was you started seeing women get into hip-hop, 860 00:42:03,146 --> 00:42:05,040 You'd see the Mary J Bliges, 861 00:42:05,064 --> 00:42:07,543 and... and you'd see all the Lil' Kims, 862 00:42:07,567 --> 00:42:11,839 and women were finally invited to the party. 863 00:42:11,863 --> 00:42:13,799 And it was really time because, of course, 864 00:42:13,823 --> 00:42:18,679 women always have a lot to say, and we're usually good at it. 865 00:42:18,703 --> 00:42:23,726 -The beef that we saw with Tupac and Biggie 866 00:42:23,750 --> 00:42:25,519 which was a centerpiece 867 00:42:25,543 --> 00:42:27,980 of so much of the culture in the 1990s, 868 00:42:28,004 --> 00:42:32,651 would be a passing Twitter beef today. 869 00:42:32,675 --> 00:42:35,988 {\an8}♪♪ 870 00:42:36,012 --> 00:42:38,031 -But many of the systemic issues 871 00:42:38,055 --> 00:42:41,744 that '90s hip-hop gave voice to in its lyrics 872 00:42:41,768 --> 00:42:45,205 continue to plague American society today. 873 00:42:45,229 --> 00:42:47,624 -[Chanting] Black lives matter! Black lives matter! 874 00:42:47,648 --> 00:42:51,128 -I was telling Ice Cube recently how proud I was of him, 875 00:42:51,152 --> 00:42:52,629 you know, writing that song. 876 00:42:52,653 --> 00:42:54,047 -If you really go back and listen 877 00:42:54,071 --> 00:42:56,049 to the stuff he was writing back then, 878 00:42:56,073 --> 00:42:58,594 and it's like, "Oh, wow, this is still going on." 879 00:42:58,618 --> 00:43:00,637 There's nothing wrong with a party record here and there, 880 00:43:00,661 --> 00:43:04,933 but hopefully somebody will get off of the bling 881 00:43:04,957 --> 00:43:07,770 and talk about something that's going on in the world. 882 00:43:07,794 --> 00:43:10,939 But it makes it interesting. 883 00:43:10,963 --> 00:43:17,946 -Hip-hop can be that force that finally rids this country 884 00:43:17,970 --> 00:43:22,201 and this world of... of racism and systemic racism 885 00:43:22,225 --> 00:43:27,080 and... and unifies people, levels the playing field. 886 00:43:27,104 --> 00:43:30,292 Hip-hop still has the power to do that. 887 00:43:30,316 --> 00:43:31,960 [ Siren wails ] 888 00:43:31,984 --> 00:43:35,714 -I think what the '90s did was bring the power 889 00:43:35,738 --> 00:43:38,675 of television and social justice 890 00:43:38,699 --> 00:43:44,264 {\an8}in a way that was in your face and in your living room. 891 00:43:44,288 --> 00:43:47,768 {\an8}We can look back at that and learn many, many lessons 892 00:43:47,792 --> 00:43:50,938 {\an8}about where and how we should move forward. 893 00:43:50,962 --> 00:43:54,650 {\an8}I do have hope that somehow 894 00:43:54,674 --> 00:43:57,027 {\an8}we will be able to all get along, 895 00:43:57,051 --> 00:43:58,695 {\an8}just like Rodney King said. 896 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:00,239 {\an8}We will get along. 897 00:44:00,263 --> 00:44:03,140 {\an8}♪♪