Snoop Dogg was jealous of 2Pac’s success upon joining Death Row Records, says a member of the Outlawz, Pac’s group he discovered and introduced to the world prior to his passing.
Napoleon, a longtime member of the Outlawz and one of the late rap icon’s closest confidants during his tenure on Death Row, spoke with Art of Dialogue about the reasoning behind choice comments Snoop has made regarding Pac and their relationship in recent years.
The rapper alludes to Snoop being outshone by Pac while on Death Row and his desire to be viewed and praised in a similar light as his former labelmate as the cause for his rehashing of their past interactions. “Maybe some of the things he couldn’t tell Pac face-to-face, you know, he can do it in these interviews,” Napoleon said of Tha Doggfather.
“It’s sad. And one of the reasons why I always try to correct this is because him and Pac were friends. I already know why he doin’ that, bro. Imagine if you’re the biggest star on Death Row, and Pac come and take all your shine, you understand? And 25 years later, Pac died, and every time you do an interview, that name is brought up. So maybe he’s just trying to take that shine from Pac. You know what I mean?”
According to Napoleon, one source of his ire that led to his disappointment in Snoop were remarks the Doggystyle creator made concerning his reaction to hearing 2Pac’s scathing diss record “Hit ‘Em Up,” which Snoop recently said he dislikes and confronted Pac about. In April, during an appearance on Big Boy’s Untold Stories, the 51-year-old rapper recalled the discord between himself and Pac in the days leading up to his tragic death in September 1996.
“Man, I’d say a week before he died, we was best of friends,” Snoop told the radio legend. “Two days before he died, I don’t think he liked me. Because we was in New York and sh*t had happened. New York ni**as had shot at me and did all kinds of sh*t to me, just the worst sh*t you could think of, and I forgave ’em. Then I went and did an interview and was asked how did I feel about Puffy and Biggie. I was like, ‘I like them ni**as, I wanna do some music with ’em.’”
He adds that his willingness to work with The Notorious B.I.G., Puff and other New York artists caused a rift in their relationship. “And that just rubbed cuz the wrong way, like, ‘Na, f**k them ni**as, them ni**as tried to kill me,’” Snoop continued. “‘Nas shot at you, and you talking about you wanna do a song with them ni**as?’ Even when he played the video for me to ‘Hit ‘Em Up,’ even when he played ‘Hit ‘Em Up,’ the song, I didn’t like the song. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the sh*t. It wasn’t the sh*t to me. Like, you buying more problems, cuh. You buying problems. Gangstas is everywhere. They make ’em everywhere.”
Snoop Dogg’s friendship with Pac has said to have been a catalyst in Suge Knight and Death Row Records adding 2Pac to its roster after facilitating his release from prison in October 1995 on $1.4 million bond. Snoop and 2Pac famously appeared alongside each other on the hit 1996 collaboration “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” which was released as a single from Pac’s All Eyez on Me album and is regarded as a bonafide classic.
Watch 2Pac’s “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” featuring Snoop Dogg music video below.