Marlon Wayans took a trip down memory lane during his latest appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on Tuesday (Oct. 11). The entertainer revealed that he managed to cross paths with both The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac just minutes shy of their deaths.
“I had just did Above The Rim with Tupac,” said Wayans. “And Tupac had did a movie [called] Juice with my best friend Omar Epps. So Pac was out performing at Glam Slam, which was Prince’s old club downtown, and Biggie was performing that night.” He also explained that he was able to see the pair perform together years before their infamous beef.
“So that night, I met Biggie and Pac, and they shared the stage. And they were really cool and hanging out and smoking weed together, it was a great night,” Wayans continued. “And then, a couple years after that, they started beefing. So I seen Biggie at the VIBE Magazine party and he was like, ‘Yo, I’m proud of you guys, your family. I like what y’all doing, y’all legends.’ And he gave us a dap or whatever and he said, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, kid.’ And then 10 minutes later, I heard [gunshots]…Biggie gets shot.”
Not only did he have that encounter with the late rapper just minutes before his death, but Wayans experienced something similar with Tupac before he passed away. “Here’s the crazy thing,” the 50-year-old recalled. “I see Tupac in Vegas at The Luxor, and it was the night it happened to him. I saw him 20 minutes before [and] went and gave him a hug, said, ‘I love you brother, good seeing you.’ Me and Omar got in a cab. Pac had all those people around him, he got in his BMW, and he was looking at us like, ‘I wish I could get in the cab with y’all,’ but he got in that BMW. 20 minutes later, he was shot.”
As he reflected on sharing moments with the two rap legends, Wayans added, “I love ’em both, miss ’em both.” Check out the conversation below.