1995414 words · 2 min
Andre Harrell on the Night at Quad Studios
Tupac accused Uptown boss Andre Harrell of ignoring him after the shooting. In 1995, Harrell clarified in Vibe how he organized help.
Original: Statement by Andre Harrell, titled “Andre Harrell on the NY Shooting” in the archive · Vibe · 1995
In the interview “Ready to Live,” Tupac had said that Andre Harrell, head of Uptown Records, hadn’t even looked at him after the robbery. Vibe then had several people involved recount the night of November 30, 1994, from their perspective. Harrell countered: he hadn’t ignored Tupac, but had organized help in the studio.
Three Sessions at the Quad and Panic at the Elevator
According to Harrell, Quad Studios was buzzing that evening: three sessions were taking place simultaneously, with Little Shawn, the group SWV, and Biggie. Everyone was waiting eagerly for Tupac, who was late.
When Tupac stepped out of the elevator, he paced back and forth, shouting that he had been set up. Harrell didn’t realize at first that he had been shot because he was barely bleeding; the situation looked like a fight. He told Tupac to sit down and instructed the studio staff on whom to call.
Because he didn’t trust the police around Tupac, he asked Stretch to ride along to the hospital. Harrell himself stayed at the studio until 4 a.m. because the police were questioning everyone.
Conciliatory Notes and Word Against Word
In the end, Harrell sounded conciliatory. He said he was glad Tupac wanted to leave his bad-boy image behind in the interview, and that he would like to visit him to talk. Tupac knew deep down what was true and what was not.
Harrell’s account contradicts Tupac’s accusation that no one looked after him-it portrays Harrell as the one who organized the response. What exactly happened upstairs in the studio remains one person’s word against another. No involvement by Harrell in the robbery was ever established. Dexter Isaac, who claimed in 2011 to have been one of the perpetrators, named James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond as the man who ordered it.
Uptown, Motown, and No Peace Before Tupac’s Death
Harrell was a key figure in the New York scene: he had mentored Sean Combs at Uptown, under whose guidance Biggie signed there; in 1995, he became head of Motown. He died on May 7, 2020.
No public reconciliation with Tupac is known. Following his release in October 1995, Tupac went to Death Row and escalated the conflict with the East Coast.
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