On September 4, 1996 Tupac attends the MTV Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The show also marked Tupac Shakur’s final public appearance before being shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada three days later on September 7, dying of his wounds on September 13. Tupac Shakur was nominated for Best Rap Music Video for hit single ‘California Love’ featuring Dr. Dre, but would lose to Coolio’s ‘Gangsta Paradise’. Tupac and Snoop Doggy Dogg presented Best Hard Rock Video.

Kevin Mazur

The VMA after party was held at Bryant Park and was the location for the infamous Tupac and Nas face off. Thankful the meeting between the two Hip Hop icons ended peacefully as cooler heads prevailed. Speaking to Ebro In The Morning in August of 2020, Nas reflected on the infamous showdown. “We had a great convo. He explained that he thought I was dissing him on the song ‘The Message’,” Nas said. “Last person I was even thinking about when I wrote that record.”

Prior to running into Nas, Shakur gave his last on-camera interview where he elaborated on his plans for Death Row East. “We plan to take the same strategy we use with Death Row West, which is mind over matter, taking all our weakness and making it to our strengths,” Tupac explains. “We already run the streets out here. So now we’re gonna help some of these brothers get their money on, cause we know they got talent.”