Mysteries still exist about the death of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BIG.. There are many
theories of who was behind the killings and a lot has been revealed over two decades since
their deaths. However, both cases are technically still unsolved.
Both were huge icons in hip hop and music in general. But at times their personal lives
overshadowed their music, especially that of Tupac Shakur.
As huge as their music was, what were their business affairs like? Did they have good
contracts and what were their net worths at the time of their death?
In the 90s getting a bad contract was pretty typical, especially for R&B and hip hop artists
of that time. In fact, it was even to be expected. Neither Bad Boy, run by music mogul Puff Daddy,
nor Death Row Records, run by Suge Knight had the best reputations for their business
affairs.
Tupac and Biggie were at the top of their game as rappers. They had the lyrics, their
own styles (although Tupac said Biggie stole his) and they had the record sales. Each had
loyal fans all over the world and Platinum selling albums under their belts.
Sadly, both their lives were tragically cut short just as they were both at the height
of their success. Biggie was only just getting started when he was killed. Although he had
been rapping and releasing music underground, he had only released one album in the mainstream
before his death. And he was actually in LA promoting his second album on the night he
was killed. Ironically, it was called Life After Death.
Tupac on the other hand had been around longer. From his teens he too was heavy on the freestyle
scene and rapped all over, from his hometown in New York City, to Baltimore where he went
to high school and then eventually his career took off in the Oakland Area of California.
He was in his early twenties at this time. He got his big break with Digital Underground
and eventually released his own music and his debut album 2pacalypse Now was released
in 1991.
Three years before Biggie went mainstream, Tupac even mentored Biggie along the way and
gave him some guidance about his music. At one point Biggie even wanted Tupac to manage
him, but Pac encouraged him to stay with Puffy because he was an experienced record exec.
In an interview on the Murder Master Music Show, author Ben Weshoff said:
“Tupac kind of took Biggie under his wing and tried to teach him everything he knew,
kind of took him to school. Biggie’s career wasn’t taking off as fast as he hoped it
would. And so he actually asked Tupac if he would be his manager.”
Tupac advised Biggie to rap for women not men or thugs. He always believed if a rapper
built a following of female fans, the rest would follow. Biggie took his advice and apparently
it worked.
Here’s more about their careers, their deaths and who had a higher net worth at the time
of their death. On Sept 7th 1996 Tupac was enjoying a night
out in Vegas. He was at the MGM Grand with the then head of Death Row Records Marion
Suge Knight. They were there to see the championship fight between their friend Mike Tyson and
Bruce Seldon. Tyson knocked Bruce Seldon out in the first round. If the fight had gone
on longer, who knows what the outcome would have been that night.
Before exiting the casino, Pac and Suge got into an altercation with some members of the
Southside crips. A member of Suge’s entourage pointed Orlando Anderson out to Tupac. Prior
to that evening, one of them had been jumped by some southsiders and a Deathrow chain had
been stolen. Tupac was reported to have approached Orlando Anderson and asked: “You from the
South?” End quote.
Then a fight ensued and Orlando was beaten up. Till this day, it is not certain why Tupac
reacted the way he did. And it’s unlikely that the person who pointed Orlando out expected
him to react this way. Sadly, it had deadly consequences.
Orlando and other Southsiders would later go on to retaliate as it would not be the
only time their paths would cross that evening.
While Pac and Suge were heading to a nightclub and stopped at a red light, a white Cadillac
pulled up next to them and 14 shots were fired. The vehicle sped off into the night, never
to be seen again.
Tupac was hit in the chest, arm and leg, he got shot six times. He was transported to
University Medical Center. Six days later after being operated on, he passed away. He
was 25 years old.
Orlando Anderson was never charged but his cousin, Keefe D revealed details of that night
and confirmed their involvement. In exchange for complete impunity from prosecution.
Six months after Tupac’s death, Biggie was gunned down in his car. He and PUffy traveled
to LA to promote his new album. One of the songs on the album was a tribute to California
and the West Coast. Biggie was looking forward to his album coming out and clearing up some
of the misconceptions people had of him. He wanted people to know he had no beef with
the West Coast and certainly nothing to do with Tupac’s death.
But going to LA, only six months after Pac’s death, was a fatal mistake.
Video - awards show.
At 12:45 am, Biggie and Puffy left a star studded party, with many celebrities in town
for an awards show. The party was so rambunctious, it got shut down by the fire department for
overcrowding. During the party, the DJ played some Tupac songs as a tribute to him, the
crowd went wild and it was clear people were still hurting over the loss.
Many celebrities were caught on Camera having a good time, including PUffy. Biggie stayed
in the back and wanted to keep a low profile, he didn’t want to appear on Camera. Perhaps
he realised it was a mistake to come to LA so soon after Tupac’s death. Maybe he didn’t
want to appear like he was rubbing it in people’s faces and being disrespectful to 2pac’s
memory, especially on his home turf.
Biggie and Puffy left the party at 12:45 am.
Biggie’s vehicle stopped at a red light on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and South
Fairfax Avenue, 50 yards from the museum.
A dark colored Chevrolet Impala pulled up alongside Biggie’s SUV and opened fire.
He was shot 4 times and rushed to the cedar-Sinai Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at
1:15 am. He was only 24 years old. An autopsy revealed that it was the fourth shot that
proved fatal, severing several vital organs upon entry.
In an interview with MTV rapper Nas said he thought Biggie and 2Pac’s deaths were the
end of rap. Saying quote:
“Those two things hit me real hard because I knew both of them. I knew Biggie more, but
what they meant to the art from can never be redone, can never be replaced. And when
those two guys passed away, I thought it was the end of rap.” End quote.
Biggie had an estimated net worth of $10 million at the time of his death, according to celebrity
net worth.
Here some strange facts:
His first album, Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994 and it reached 13 on
the Billboard 200. It garnered two number one singles, Big Poppa and One More Chance.
The album was released exactly two years before Tupac’s death, who died on Friday the 13th
1996. All of that is really creepy.
One more chance sold 1.1 million copies and Ready to Die went 6 times Platinum.
Busta Rhymes said Biggie used to stand on street corners giving out free copies of Ready
to Die to help promote it. He came a long way from his early days as an up and coming
rapper and a former drug dealer.
Tupac at the time of his death had sold $60 million albums, worldwide!
Despite this, he was in debt at the time of his death.
Death Row claimed 2Pac’s estate owed several million dollars. The contract Pac signed with
Deathrow was handwritten. It was signed while he was in jail and as a condition of being
bailed out by Suge.
Pac was not in much of a position to negotiate the terms of the contract. Even the lawyer
who oversaw the contract worked for Deathrow. He probably had a low royalty rate, and it
wasn’t uncommon for artists to sign away the rights of their masters, this is pretty
standard even today.
Labels would offer their artists a certain number of cents per album, instead of a more
favorable percentage rate of royalties per album.
Even though Suge bailed Tupac out and bought his mother a house, in the end it was Tupac
who would have to pay all
of it back. As well as this, he had the usual cost attributed to a new artist. All of which
would have been recouperable for the label.
In order to pay the debt back, many posthumous songs were released such as Changes and Ghetto
Gospel.
Ghetto Gospel reached number 1 in four countries and many of Pac’s previous Platinum selling
albums, went multi Platinum again.
In 2007, Afeni Shakur took Deathrow to court, forcing them to release Tupac’s song vault,
which they were holding onto. She was reportedly awarded 152 songs from the label’s vault,
with songs recorded at the height of 2Pac’s career.
Many attest to his rigorous work ethic and sleeping in the studio, working around the
clock.
He reportedly recorded 20 albums worth of songs while at Deathrow. 25 years after his
death, he is still releasing music.
It was his goal to leave a legacy and he knew his time was short.
Tupac made the list of Top Earning dead celebrities due to his posthumous earnings. His estate
is estimated to be $40 million.
Biggie’s estate also blew up after his death.
Life After Death was released 16 days after he was killed. It went on to become one of
the best selling hip hop albums of all time. His estate is estimated to be worth a whopping
160 million dollars.
Faith and Biggie were separated at the time of his death, but not legally divorced. She
and Biggle’s mother Voletta have remained close since his death. He is survived by two
children Tyanna and Christopher Junior. Volletta took the LAPD to court, blaming them for her
son’s death. Keefe D believes it was crooked cops who were associated with Death Row Records
who were behind Biggie’s killing. The case was dismissed but she hasn’t given up hope
of the case being solved. Faith has worked closely with Voletta to fight for justice.
In 2017, while promoting posthumous album, The King and I, Faith said:
“We believe that [the LAPD] knows [who murdered him], but it’s still a matter of them actually
saying that and bringing someone to justice,” she tells Rolling Stone. “I pray for that
to happen, but I’m almost accepting the fact that they may not because it’s just
so shady and has been able to go under the rug for so long. Maybe it’s just a matter
of one thing that will happen and no matter how long it takes, it’ll actually make them
do that. But [the dominoes] have been falling over the years; they’re just slowly falling
down.”
Were you surprised by 2Pac’s and Biggie’s net worths at the time of their deaths? Biggie
wasn’t doing too badly, money wise. There have been many stories of broke Bad Boy artists
over the years. But Biggie earned well in his short career. And 2Pac did what he had
to do to make bail and get out of jail.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
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