Before they became "2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted," Snoop Dogg and 2Pac were strangers, each with his own budding rap career. Eventually, of course, they became friends, labelmates and collaborators -- and the story of how that started, with the night they met, is one for the ages.

The initial meeting was at the wrap party for "Poetic Justice," a film starring 'Pac. Snoop and actor/director Michael Rappaport, whose own memories of the night triggered Snoop to tell his, thought that the eventful night was in 1994, but since the movie came out in 1993, it was probably in 1992 or early 1993.

Either way, it sounds like quite a evening.

Apparently, Rappaport was there that night, too -- it was also the first time he and Tha Doggfather met -- and he witnessed the two rap greats' first exchange.

"It wasn't tense, but he started rhyming, he was like, 'And all your people are looking at me,'" Rappaport remembered.

"It was a hell of a freestyle battle that night, right?" Snoop added. "I knew who he was through his music, but I didn't know him."

A little while later, the rappers went outside, where they were introduced by a mutual friend. They each started smoking: Snoop rolled a joint, while 'Pac rolled a blunt.

"We smoking our own sh-t for about like ten minutes -- but n---as ain't passed it yet; it's still tense," Snoop said. "[Eventually] I passed cuz my joint, and he took it, and he gave me the blunt. I'm like, 'Man, what is this?' He said, 'That's a blunt, n---a, you ain't never had one?' I'm like, 'Nah.' He's like, 'Lemme show you how to roll it up.'"

"From that moment on, we clicked."

Then they exchanged numbers and hung out a few days later. Snoop went to 'Pac's house, where he played him "Juice," which had already come out.

"When I watched it, I called every gangsta and thug I knew," Snoop said. "We had a movie party at my house. About 1,000 n---as in the living room. We put that motherf--ker on, when that motherf--ker was over with, we was like, 'That n---a's hard.'"

"Then me and cuz formed a friendship."

So the start of Snoop and 2Pac's friendship hinged on a rap battle, sharing weed and watching movies. Could it really have been any other way?