Hit 'Em Up

On June 3, 1996, in a warehouse on Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles, look-alikes faced the camera: a fake Biggie, a fake Puffy, a fake Lil’ Kim. Tupac and the Outlawz rapped about what they thought of the originals. The song came out that same month as the B-side of the single How Do U Want It. Three months later Tupac was dead.

Hit ‘Em Up is the harshest song he ever released and one of the best-known diss tracks in rap history, a song aimed squarely at rivals. It names names, makes threats and hurls insults, and it became the emblem of the feud between Death Row and Bad Boy.

A first draft in the fall of 1995

The first version dates from October 1995, shortly after Tupac’s release from prison. He cut the final version in spring 1996 with the Outlawz. Tupac raps the first and third verses, Hussein Fatal the second, Yaki Kadafi the fourth and E.D.I. Mean the fifth.

The bassline and drum loop are replayed from Dennis Edwards’ Don’t Look Any Further, re-recorded rather than sampled. Eric B. & Rakim had already used the same source on Paid in Full (1987). The hook plays on Player’s Anthem by Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group from the Bad Boy camp.

Producer Johnny “J” later described Tupac’s anger as real. He had never seen him so furious, he said, and none of it was an act. That is how books on Tupac’s studio years report it; no recording of him saying so is available. He added that he never wanted to record anything on that scale again.

A debt from Quad Studios

The trigger lay a year and a half back: the assault of November 30, 1994 at Quad Studios (Shooting 1994). Tupac believed The Notorious B.I.G., Sean “Puffy” Combs and their circle had known about it. No proof ever surfaced; Biggie and Combs denied it. The feud had been sharpened by Biggie’s Who Shot Ya?, which Tupac heard as mockery. The full background is under East vs. West.

Shots in every direction

Besides Biggie and Combs, the song targets Lil’ Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Mobb Deep and Chino XL. Tupac also claims to have slept with Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans. Evans has always denied it.

Reporter Chuck Philips did see her at Can-Am in 1995, recording backing vocals for a different Tupac song, but that is no evidence for the claim. Mobb Deep answered the line about Prodigy’s illness in 1996 with Drop a Gem on ‘Em.

No documented path from the song to the murders

No documented link exists between the song and the murders of Tupac and Biggie. In the trial over Tupac’s death, a Las Vegas jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis on August 31, 2026; the verdict is not final. The prosecution named revenge for an attack on his nephew at the MGM Grand as the motive, not the song (see Investigation).

A video full of look-alikes

The clip was produced by Look Hear Productions. Tupac and the Outlawz rap in white, black and caged rooms. Some of the doubles had already appeared in the video for 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted. Who directed it is not established (IMVDb lists J. Kevin Swain). More under Music videos.

Big on radio, divisive in the scene

At first the song got heavy airplay because the feud drew listeners. Some stations, such as KPWR in Los Angeles, would not play it. Criticism came from within the scene. Ice-T writes in his memoir that he urged Tupac to talk to Biggie before releasing it. Kool Moe Dee and Chuck D later wrote that Tupac had gone too far. At the same time, Billboard and The Ringer both ranked it among the best diss tracks ever in 2024.

A beat others measure themselves against

The song was reissued on Greatest Hits (1998), remixed on Nu-Mixx Klazzics (2003) and released live from the July 4, 1996 concert (Live at the House of Blues). Eminem borrowed the template for Quitter (2000). The 2017 film All Eyez on Me re-stages the song. Kendrick Lamar freestyled over the beat; radio host Big Boy posted the clip in April 2018 (news item).

In streaming it ranks among Tupac’s biggest. The single version had about 1.09 billion Spotify streams by October 7, 2026 (count by kworb.net). Certifications include the UK (Platinum, 2024), Germany (Gold, 2026), Italy (Gold, 2024) and New Zealand (5x Platinum, 2026).

All four came nearly three decades after the release. The feud is long over; its loudest song plays on.