When the the story of a boxing legend is entwined with that of a rap legend, you can bet those moments where paths crossed will be riveting.
During an interview with “The Whoolywood Shuffle” last weekend, Mike talked about the first time he met the iconic Tupac Shakur.
According to Iron Mike, he was at an upscale club, sharing laughs with the folks running the place. They reminisced, drank and cried together.
The drama began when Tupac wasn’t being allowed in the club. At the time, no one, including Tyson, knew who Tupac was.
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Mike felt bad, so he asked the organizers to let the young MC (and his enormous 50-person entourage) in. After all, he said, they had just finished crying together. So, they obliged. About 45 minutes later, “Tupac was on the mic, rockin’ the club,” Mike said. ‘Pac was dope that way.
Mike went on:
“The next time I see him, I’m in prison. He wasn’t famous then. Then he’s famous when I get locked up so he wrote me. He appreciated me letting him in [the club]…Then he visited me and we started talking…That’s how we met each other.”
Tupac and Iron Mike are often linked because of their friendship, but also because of the rapper’s tragic death. He died in 1996 after being shot in Las Vegas following a Tyson fight. Mike explained his loss in the interview too.
Mike said:
“His energy’s off the wall. Guys don’t do that no more. When I see entertainers, it’s just not that energy…Some guys sell hundreds of millions of records, but they don’t got that stuff. He had that stuff.”