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Hit 'Em Up
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss song by Tupac Shakur, featuring his rap group the Outlawz. It is the B-Side to the 1996 single "How Do U Want It".The song viciously insults several East Coast rappers, chiefly Tupac Shakur's enemy and former friend, The Notorious B.I.G.. "Hit 'Em Up" was produced by long-time collaborator Johnny J and samples "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards.
Background to songA brutal diatribe, in "Hit 'Em Up" Shakur's venom was aimed at two other hip hop artists, primarily The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean "Puffy" Combs, who he believed had advance knowledge that he would be robbed and shot in a November 30, 1994 incident in New York City, but didn't warn him (and possibly played a role in the incident). By extension, Shakur also took aim at Combs' Bad Boy Records and B.I.G.'s associates Lil' Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A.. VersesThe first verse is performed by 2Pac, the second by Hussein Fatal, the third by 2Pac, The fourth by Yaki Kadafi & the fifth by E.D.I. Mean The phrase "take money", which is repeated throughout the song, is a satirical play on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s then recent hit, "Get Money". Additionally, the "Don't Look Any Further" sample was also used in "Gettin' Money"; a remix of "Get Money". The chorus of "Hit 'Em Up" is a play on the chorus of Junior M.A.F.I.A's "Player's Anthem", which is itself an interpolation of the melody from Yellowman's "Zunguzung".[1] Mobb Deep and Chino XL were also targeted. Jay-Z was originally insulted in the song's lengthy outro - right before Shakur says: "Fuck you, die slow muthafucka, my fo-fo make sure all y'all kids don't grow!" - but Hussein Fatal of the Outlawz convinced Shakur that the Brooklyn rapper had been neutral and the insult was erased, leaving several seconds of silence in its absence in certain remade versions of the song. ReceptionSome people at the time felt that this song had gone 'too far', with Shakur's claim that he had sexual intercourse with Notorious B.I.G.'s wife, Faith Evans, and his derision of Mobb Deep's Prodigy for having sickle-cell anemia. It was also criticized for intensifying the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, and in hindsight, cited as the turning point towards the violence that later claimed the lives of both 2Pac and Biggie. Shakur disregarded criticism that he had taken the traditional hip hop rivalry to a dangerous extreme, remarking that the song was a "classic battle record". XXL later appointed "Hit 'Em Up" "the #1 diss song ever". A sequel was later released. The Notorious B.I.G. humorously responded to Shakur's claims that he had slept with his wife on "Brooklyn's Finest", a duet with Jay-Z from the latter's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt, rapping, "if Faith had twins, she'd probably have two Pacs/ Get it? Tu..pacs." On the same track, Jay-Z and Biggie make subliminal jabs about 2Pac as Biggie does claim that he set up Tupac for the November 30, 1994 shooting when he raps: "Who shot ya? Mob ties like Sinatra/Peruvians tried to do me in/I ain't paid them yet." The "Carlito's Way-referenced intro ("Okay! I'm reloaded") is followed by other lines: "Think you big-time?/Fuckin' with Jay-Z/You gonna die big time!/Here come the pain!" These lines may be in reference to the fact that Tupac planned to insult Jay on "Hit 'Em Up." Mobb Deep responded to 2Pac and Death Row with the track "Drop a Gem On 'Em." Chino XL responded with a nameless diss track which was never released. The song sampled the same beat as Notorious B.I.G.'s Who Shot Ya? and mocked Tupac for his hardships in his life, including a time in which Tupac's mother was a crack addict and his 1995 prison stint. TriviaThe song uses the word "fuck" a total of 49 times. Rapper Eminem produced a diss track called "Quitter", which was a diss at House Of Pain rapper Everlast. Half way through the track, the backing changes to that of Hit 'Em Up and Eminem then raps in a similar style to how Tupac Shakur did on the original version. This track was only pressed on white label vinyl and was never commercially released. Total List of Targets
Music VideoIn the video, 2Pac raps in a white room with the Outlawz with TV screens in the background showing clips of himself, Puffy, and Biggie Smalls. These clips focused on gestures alluding to Tupac's claim to have stolen money from Bad Boy Records. Gestures included Tupac stealing money with his crew from a safe, Puffy and Biggie dancing as cash appears from their position into the hands of Tupac, and them driving (which possibly alludes to the fact that Faith Evans was Biggie's estranged wife, so Biggie knew nothing about what Shakur claimed to have happened). The video itself has repeated parody characters of Puffy, Biggie, and Faith Evans. There are also clips of 2Pac and his crew in a purple caged room and a black room with diamonds in the background. CompilationsOne of Shakur's most popular songs, it would reappear on a number of releases:
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