Marlon Wayans recently revealed he was one of the last people to see late rappers Tupac Shakur and Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace alive before their shootings.
This admission occurred on Oct. 11 during the comedian‘s guest appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” while promoting his new Netflix film “The Curse of Bridge Hollow.” During the interview, Wayans discussed his relationship with both men and how he became a part of the infamous 1992 photo that showcased Shakur and Wallace posing alongside each other.
Wayans explained he was in the image because he was attending the Glam Slam, where both Shakur and Wallace performed.
While mentioning the various projects Shakur worked on with him and Omar Epps, he said, “I just did ‘Above the Rim’ with Tupac, and Tupac just did ‘Juice’ with my best friend Omar Epps. So Pac was out performing at Glam Slam, which was Prince’s old club downtown, and Biggie was performing that night.”
He continued, “So, that night I met Biggie and Pac, and they shared the stage. They were really cool and hanging out and smoking weed together, it was a great night. And then a couple of years after that, they started beefing.”
Shakur and Wallace’s budding friendship would end in 1994 after the “Dear Mama” lyricist was shot and robbed at Quad Recording Studios in New York, where Wallace was working on an undisclosed project. Shakur adamantly claimed Wallace was the mastermind behind the shooting. What ultimately added more fuel to the allegations was Wallace’s decision to release his track “Who Shot Ya” in 1995.
Further in the interview, Wayans shared that the last time he saw Wallace was on March 9, 1997 at the Vibe Magazine Party, moments before he was shot and killed. He said, “So I’d seen Biggie at a Vibe magazine party and he was like: ‘Yo, I’m proud of you guys, you know, you’re family. I like what y’all are doing, y’all are legends,’ and he said ‘keep doing what you’re doing kid.’ And then, ten minutes later, Biggie gets shot.”
Wayans added that he was also there the same night Shakur was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Sept. 7, 1996. Shakur would pass away six days later, on Sept. 13, 1996, from the injuries he sustained in the shooting.
He said, “Here’s the crazy thing. I see Tupac in Vegas at The Luxor, and it was the night it happened to him. I saw him 20 minutes before went and gave him a hug, said, ‘I love you brother, good seeing you.’ Me and Omar [Epps] got in a cab. Pac had all those people around him, he got in his BMW, and he was looking at us like, ‘I wish I could get in that cab with y’all,’ but he got in that BMW. 20 minutes later, he was shot.”
Toward the end of the video, Wayans expressed how much he loved and missed Shakur and Wallace. He said, “It’s crazy, ’cause I’m sitting there, watching the both of them in the background of that picture. I love them both, miss them both.”
