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Biggie Himself Clears Up 'Who Shot Ya' Misunderstanding In This Long-Lost Freestyle

By Rahman Dukes

There's a spine-tingling moment in "Notorious" when Biggie and Puff Daddy are surrounded by an auditorium full of angry Tupac fans during a performance at an Atlanta college. At the height of what had become a bicoastal rap war led by the two kings of hip-hop, B.I.G. and Tupac, Biggie Smalls had had enough of the heckling and decided to react.

"Who shot ya?" Big rapped. "Separate the weak from the ob-so-lete/ Hard to creep from Brooklyn streets/ It's on, n---a, f--- all that bickering and beef."

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"Who Shot Ya" would become one of the greatest hip-hop records to date -- and one of the most misunderstood. The song's interpretation played a role in the demise of the MCs' relationship.

With countless attacks sent B.I.'s way, "Who Shot Ya" was immediately digested as a dis record. The song brainwashed listeners into believing that Big was poking fun at 'Pac over the infamous Quad Studios shooting that left the West Coast rapper with three bullet holes -- holes that 'Pac held Biggie, Puffy and others responsible for.

But was "Who Shot Ya" a response to the Quad shooting? Lil' Cease says no. Mr. Cee says no. Hell, even Diddy shot down those claims. Only the late, great B.I.G. could clear matters up, but we all know that's not possible.

Which leaves us with a bit of hard-core evidence. Upon our research for the "Notorious" movie and piling over our Big catalog, we stumbled across a freestyle rap from the late great Frank White who spit a few bars you may have heard before.

Check out the video, and judge for yourself.

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