Havoc Explains Why He Thinks 2Pac Dissed Mobb Deep

2Pac’s rap feuds are well-documented and there were quite a few of them. The late rap icon’s beef with Mobb Deep is one of his most well-known, having dissed the Queens duo on his inflammatory track “Hit ‘Em Up” back in 1996. In a recent interview with Drink Champs, Mobb Deep’s Havoc shared his thoughts on why Pac had an issue with him and the late Prodigy. 

Havoc offered that Mobb Deep’s use of one of Pac’s most famous terms might have sparked some bad blood. 

“I believe it was a combo of things,” Havoc says. "On ‘Survival of the Fittest,’ we [rapped], 'Thug life, we still livin’ it.' At the time, [2pac] had an article in Vibe magazine when he was like, ‘I don't want to do this thug shit anymore.' So he probably thought we were like, ‘Thug life, we still living it, fuck what he’s doin'.' It piled up on 'L.A., L.A.' and it was like, fuck these n****as.”

Capone-N-Noreaga’s “L.A., L.A.” was released in 1995 as a response to Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Dogg’s controversial “New York, New York,” which some East Coast rappers perceived as a diss. Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi guested on that track, which Havoc believes only added to Pac’s animosity towards the group. 

Mobb Deep would respond to 2Pac’s salvos with “Drop A Gem On ‘Em” from their 1996 album Hell On Earth, and the track was issued as the album’s first radio single. But despite getting airplay on Hot 97 at the time, the group and their label decided to pull the song from the airwaves after 2Pac was shot and killed in September 1996. 

Havoc is prepping to hit the road with Raekwon on a tour celebrating the 30-year anniversaries of two of their most celebrated albums: Mobb Deep’s The Infamous and Rae’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...