In an interview with former NFL star Arian Foster, Snoop Dogg gave his recollection of the encounter Nas and 2Pac had in New York's Central Park before the 1996 MTV Music Awards.
"Pac had seen Nas in the park, and he and Nas had words. But Nas didn't want none. But Nas has 100 niggas with guns. By me saying he didn't want none, didn't mean he punked out. It mean he just didn't to go all the way there because we was in New York in Central Park. With 100 goons from New York circled us. Pac didn't even see them. I did because I had a gang bang mentality. I seen the niggas putting their hands in their pockets when Pac was in [Nas's] ear telling him 'Nigga, nigga I made a song, nigga, dissing you, JAY-Z ,Biggie.'"
According to Snoop, Nas ignored Pac's provocation and told him that he had no problems with him. To which Pac ungratefully responded that Nas "better not say a motherfucking word" when the diss track comes out.
Nas just shook Pac's hand and said he loved him. Pac walked away thinking he had intimidated Nas in his own hometown. But Snoop knew what really happened.
"That's why I love Nas to this day," Snoop said.
Listen to the Snoop tell the tale below:
Interestingly, Nas's recounting of the incident is different than Snoop's, with Nas remembering that Pac was much more gracious in the conversation.
"What [Tupac] said to me was, ‘Me and you are brothers. Me and you are never supposed to go at it," Nas said in 2006. "But I heard you was dissing me on mixtapes.’ I’m like, ‘I heard you was dissing me on this new Makaveli album. We both knew we were supposed to continue that conversation and probably just squash the whole thing. I was scheduled to meet him in Vegas; you and Jimmy Iovine called me at 4AM and told me he might not make it."