On This Date in 1994: 'Ready to Die,' the debut album by the Notorious B.I.G. (and the only one issued in his lifetime) is released.

On This Date in 1996: Tupac Shakur is murdered by unknown gunmen in Las Vegas.

The Almanac Advises for September 13: "A major part of readying soldiers for battle is preparing them for possible death. They are often called upon to confront their own mortality, as well as that of both their comrades and their enemies."

On This Date in 1995: Tupac Shakur weds his longtime girlfriend Keisha Morris while he is imprisoned at the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. The marriage is annulled in 1996.

The Almanac Advises for April 29: "Some prisons allow conjugal visits between inmates and their legal spouses. This privilege is usually extended to those prisoners who have earned it through exemplary behavior. Only six states, including New York, have a conjugal-visit program -- but only for minimum-security prisons."

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New York, 1993: I had been doing a fair amount of hip-hop photography and album covers, and I got this assignment from Rolling Stone to photograph Tupac. He showed up [at my studio] right on time, and with just one other guy. I remember he had brought a couple of different changes of clothing, and he took his shirt off to change into another shirt, and I said, "Wow, man, those tattoos are fantastic! We gotta do something with the shirt off." I kept thinking to myself, "This would be an amazing cover for Rolling Stone if his record went to the top of the charts." In the end, it actually did get to be the cover of Rolling Stone -- unfortunately because the guy was assassinated.



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Notorious B.I.G. vs. 2Pac

Fightin' Words: "Grab your glocks when you see 2Pac" ('Hit 'Em Up,' 2Pac)

When Tupac Shakur got shot in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio in 1994, he was convinced that East Coast rival Notorious B.I.G. was involved. In one of the all-time best dis songs, 'Hit 'Em Up,' he claimed to have slept with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans. Biggie vowed not to respond, but when Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas, the rotund rapper was immediately suspected. Biggie's murder in 1997, a year after Tupac's, makes this short but very sour feud the most deadly in music history.

Judges' Decision: Double KO

'Hit 'Em Up'
--2Pac featuring the Outlawz (1996)

The brutal diss record that irreversibly cranked up Tupac's feud with Biggie and Puffy, 'Hit 'Em Up' slipped into the market on the back of his 'How Do U Want It' single. Not that the rapper intended to bury the song: No way Biggie was going to miss the bit about his archrival, uh, making nice with his wife.



Listen to 'Hit 'Em Up'

Buy it on iTunes

Lesane Parish Crooks

Birthdate: June 16, 1971

Birthplace: New York City