Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were two of the most popular, influential, talented rappers and artists of their generation. They were a major part of popularizing hip-hop in the 90s. But before the decade was over, both had been murdered. Neither case was ever solved.

In the 3rd season of Slate's podcast Slow Burn, new host Joel Anderson examines the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that ended in tragedy and change hip-hop forever. The story begins with Tupac being robbed and shot in the lobby of a New York studio where Biggie was recording. Tupac immediately suspected Biggie and his crew had something to do with it, despite there being little evidence to support his suspicion. The rivalry that ensued divided the world of hip-hop and ended with no winner and two less stars.

The story of Biggie and Tupac has been told and retold many times, but Slow Burn offers minute-by-minute, first hand accounts of some of the most pivotal moments of this legendary rap beef that you won't find in any printed stories or general hip-hop documentaries.

Hardcore History – "Julius Caesar is our travel guide as he takes us through his murderous subjugation of the native Celtic tribal peoples of ancient Gaul. It sounds vaguely like other, recent European colonial conquests…until the natives nearly win."

The Art of Fiction with Mimi O'Donnell – A few weeks ago our Senior Producer, Kate Evans, hosted an event at the Hot Docs Podcast Festival in Toronto. There, she interviewed Mimi O'Donnell — the Executive Producer of Scripted at Gimlet — in front of a live audience.

Motherhacker – "Bridget's life is a series of dropped calls. With a gift for gab, an ex-husband in rehab, and down to her last dollar, Bridget's life takes a desperate turn when she starts vishing over the phone for a shady identity theft ring in order to support her family."

Bad Batch – "Patients are offered a miracle cure, but instead they end up rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The race is on to track down what went wrong with several patients in Texas before more people get hurt. The trail leads to a stem cell company with a charismatic CEO, and to an entire multibillion dollar industry where greed and desperation collide."

Story Store – Mr. Orlando the Moose and Gary the Unicorn get into some hijinks with Rick Mercer.

Slow Burn - "In November 1994, while on trial for sexual abuse, Tupac Shakur is shot five times in a New York recording studio. In the aftermath, he starts to suspect that his erstwhile friend Christopher Wallace, better known as Biggie Smalls, might be involved. It was the start of a beef that would consume the world of hip-hop and end with both men dead."

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