Nas reenacts 2Pac, Biggie shootings

[Nosak]

The deaths of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. continue to haunt Nas, and now his obsession has led him to the brink of bad taste. In 1999, Nas penned a tribute to 2Pac and Biggie called "We Will Survive" that was fueled by a Kenny Loggins sample and was a single from the first of two albums that year, I Am. For his latest single, "Got Ur Self A Gun," Nas has crafted a video that reenacts the murders of two of hip-hop's biggest stars. Nas claims the video and single, which samples the theme song from "The Sopranos," is just a testament to his dedication to the culture. "I love hip-hop, and they died for hip-hop," Nas told MTV. "And I just wanted to represent their love for hip-hop by reenacting the scenes the last time we saw them. A lot of other artists were ripping them off, and I just wanted to pay homage to those brothers in a big way. I didn't want nobody to forget about them, the originators." Nas said he made an effort to get in touch with those that might be affected the most by seeing those images replayed on a television screen over and over again. "I called Suge Knight and told him about it," Nas said. "He was real cool about it. We spoke to Puffy, and he was kinda taken aback... it took him a minute to really respond. I had somebody get in touch with Voletta Wallace (Biggie's mother), and she wanted to get back to us. It's a touchy situation and by no way did I want to show any disrespect. With 'Hate Me Now,' I've been through a controversial video with Puffy and Steve Stoute over the cross thing. And that's one thing (about a video), if it doesn't give you goose bumps, then it's nothin'." Stillmatic will hit stores Sept. 18.