2Pac & Notorious B.I.G., Welcome to the Hood (DVD, 2004)

This entry is often listed among the documentaries under the title “Biggie & 2Pac”. That is misleading: it is neither a documentary about Tupac nor Nick Broomfield’s 2002 film Biggie & Tupac. It is a music video collection called 2Pac & Notorious B.I.G., Welcome to the Hood. The page keeps its address so existing links still work.

Release details

Contents

The DVD belongs to a gangsta rap series from the same publisher and collects 26 music videos. Tupac’s side includes California Love with Dr. Dre, I Ain’t Mad at Cha, How Do U Want It, Hit ‘Em Up, 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, Holler If Ya Hear Me, So Many Tears, All About U, Do for Love, Papa’z Song and If My Homie Calls. From Biggie and his circle there are Hypnotize, Mo Money Mo Problems, Big Poppa, Juicy, Warning, Sky’s the Limit and Dead Wrong, plus clips such as Player’s Anthem and Get Money by Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Can’t You See by Total.

The blurb also promised “previously unreleased” clips alongside the hits. Which ones those were can no longer be determined from the track list. As a bonus, the DVD includes a short English-language documentary on the life of The Notorious B.I.G.; there is no separate documentary segment on Tupac.

Context

Welcome to the Hood is typical of an era when DVDs bundling music videos sat next to the albums in electronics stores. It pairs two artists whose stories are tied together by the East Coast-West Coast feud and by the killings of 1996 and 1997. But it offers no perspective on that story; it is a video album.

For fans who wanted the clips on one disc, it was handy in 2004, long before music videos were available online at any time. For background on the rivalry and the murders, look to Biggie & Tupac, Murder Rap or the page on the 1996 shooting.