Read Tupac's Erratic & Paranoid Unreleased 1996 Interview
Months before his tragic death, Tupac Shakur was a very different, understandably paranoid artist in the thralls of a heated east coast/west coast rivalry. His interviews at the time were curt, callous and a bit erratic compared to the candidness for which he was known. This past week was marked with the 20th anniversary of the icon's passing. Tributes and think-pieces ran rampant, but one in particular might be of interest to the burgeoning and seasoned Tupac scholars of the world; an unreleased 1996 interview with VIBE magazine, conducted by the ever-intrepid Kevin Powell and published last week in commemoration of Pac's death.
Here Pac is at his most invulnerable, reflecting on the notorious beef and his time at Rikers Island, where he served an eleven and a half month stint. Powell notes that the man he interviewed that day made him question whether he had ever really known Pac during the three years that they were acquainted. You can hit the link below to read that unreleased Tupac interview and refer to our interview with the "hip-hop cop" to learn just how his murder remains unsolved.
