After 30 Years, Angie Martinez Is Finally Releasing Her Unheard Tupac Interview — “The Tupac Tapes” Hits Netflix November 27

After thirty years, one of hip-hop’s most mythologized interviews is finally coming out of the vault.

Netflix announced on Wednesday that Angie Martinez is releasing her never-before-heard interview with Tupac Shakur in a four-part video podcast event, “The Tupac Tapes with Angie Martinez,” premiering November 27. The conversation was recorded in Los Angeles just three months before Tupac’s death in September 1996 — and for three decades, Martinez has held onto the tapes.

Angie was only 25 at the time, a rising voice at New York’s Hot 97, when she landed one of her first major interviews with ‘Pac right in the middle of the heated East Coast–West Coast feud. The full sit-down ran about an hour and forty minutes, but only around twelve minutes ever made it to air. The rest stayed locked away — until now.

Martinez has been open about why she kept the tapes private for so long. “For a long time, I didn’t feel comfortable releasing the tapes. There were things said in that conversation that could have hurt people, damaged relationships, and added fuel to an already dangerous situation,” she told Netflix. She even took a razor blade to the original recording, cutting out the parts she felt could not safely air. “After ‘Pac died, it became even more complicated. I felt a responsibility to protect something that was never meant to become his final statement.”

The series will not just play the tapes straight through. Martinez will be joined by a stacked lineup of voices who lived through the era — Joe Budden, Charlamagne Tha God, RZA, Big Boy, Wallo, Dream Hampton, Lil’ Cease, E.D.I. Mean, Matt Barnes, Monie Love, Ed Lover, Bootleg Kev, DJ Hed, Erica Ford and Aiyisha T. Obafemi — reacting to the interview and reflecting on Tupac’s life and legacy. The trailer alone gives a taste of Pac’s fire at the time: “I’ve done more for credibility in hip-hop than any f**king artist.”

The timing is no accident. Interest in Tupac’s story has surged again after Duane “Keefe D” Davis was sentenced in October to 40 years to life for his role in orchestrating the 1996 shooting. For Martinez, though, the hope is simpler — that listeners come away with a deeper sense of empathy. “I was actually on the radio the day ‘Pac died, and I remember having to tell our listeners the news,” she said. “It was one of the most emotional moments of my career.”

Will you be watching when “The Tupac Tapes” drops on November 27? Let us know in the comments, and hit us up with your requests — call the request line at +1 302-357-9831.

Source: XXL and HotNewHipHop