Former Yo! MTV Raps co-host Ed Lover shed light on the bond the late MC’s 2Pac and Biggie Smalls once shared before their untimely demises.
In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, Lover opened up about the early relationship between 2Pac and Biggie before their bitter rap beef tore them apart. Lover recalled the camaraderie between 2Pac, rapper/producer Stretch and Treach from Naughty by Nature and Biggie, noting how tight-knit their circle was in the early ’90s.
“Stretch and ‘Pac both heavy weed smokers and Treach from Naughty, they all friends,” he remarked. “So whenever Pac came to New York we’d pick ’em up and the first thing he would always ask us, ‘Did anybody talk to Big? Where big at?’ We holler at Big or page Big, he page back and they go to Brooklyn and see Big. So they were really, really tight.”
The shift in their relationship, according to Lover, began after the infamous incident at Quad Studios, where 2Pac was shot and subsequently accused Biggie of being involved in the setup. Lover described the escalating tension that followed, which culminated in the East Coast-West Coast feud that dominated Hip-Hop headlines in the mid-90s.
“Once that ball got rolling, it was just impossible,” he said. “And then you got Vibe Magazine and all of these people doing East Coast, West Coast beef. It wasn’t that, it was Bad Boy, Death Row. That was it. It was hurtful to see two friends just turn what they’d love to have to ashes. So I just tried to stay out of it as much as I can.”
The strong bond made the eventual rivalry between 2Pac and Biggie all the more heartbreaking for those who witnessed it firsthand. Lover even emphasized how the souring of the friendship between the two was difficult to understand for even Big himself while he was enthralled in it.
“I tried to talk the Pac, he just, he wasn’t hearing it,” he said. “Big was stunned. Big didn’t know where it was coming from, why it was coming. He was hurt. Cease [Lil Cease] probably told you all that before. Big was honestly hurt by it because they loved each other that much.”
Before their untimely deaths, Ed Lover had the opportunity to work with both 2Pac and Biggie on several projects. He contributed to 2Pac’s Me Against the World album, specifically the track “Temptations,” which showcased Pac’s introspective side during a tumultuous period in his life. With Biggie, Ed Lover was involved in the production of “Party and B#######,” one of the tracks that helped establish Biggie as a formidable force in the rap game.