Before Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur engaged in their infamous so-called “East Coast Vs. West Coast” beef, they were actually close friends. In a new book, Biggie and 2Pac’s friendship is explored and offers a surprising revelation.

According to Ben Westhoff, author of the new book titled Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and the Birth of West Coast Rap, Biggie’s was so close to ‘Pac that he asked him if he could manage his rap career.

“People forget that Tupac was already blowing up, already a pretty big star when Biggie was just kind of getting started,” he said (via HipHopDX). “Tupac kind of took Biggie under his wing and tried to teach him everything he knew, kind of took him to school."

"Biggie’s career wasn’t taking off as fast as he hoped it would," he continued. "And so he actually asked Tupac if he would be his manager, and 2Pac said, ‘No I think you should stick with Puffy and he’ll get you where you need to be.'”

Subsequently, after 2Pac was ambushed at New York's Quad Studios where he was shot five times, he felt B.I.G. betrayed him.

“After he got shot, 2Pac believed that Biggie knew about it in advance, knew it was going to happen,” said Hesthoff. “That made him doubly mad because he mentored Biggie so much and helped him, and he really believed that he double-crossed him.”

Listen to Ben Westhoff's revealing audio above.

His Original Gangstas book is set for release on Sept. 13, which, ironically is the same day that 2Pac officially died. You can pre-order the book benwesthoff.com.

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