Mr Matt said:
I think Stretch, we talked about this before but to re-iterate why I believe it's this way,
1. "This goes out to you playa, you know who you are" - Pac already attacked Biggie many times in interviews and accused him of setting him up so everyone knew he was beefing with him so why say this? Stretch was unknown to the mainstream public and the whole verse isn't a verbal attack with the same venom as "Hit em up", it just sounds like Pac telling his side of the story aimed personally towards Stretch.
The Playa reference is obviously in relation to Biggie. Remember the Big Poppa, Get Money personna? Stretch never claimed to be a playa.
Mr Matt said:
2. "Now you let the fear put your ass in a place complicated to escape" - a reference to Stretch being with Pac at the shooting but not helping him. Doesn't mean anything if aimed at Biggie.
Yes it does. It's in reference to Biggie being too scared to inform Pac about the plan to kill him. As was often stated by Pac this was his principal
beef with Biggie.
Mr Matt said:
3. "You could never be live" - doesn't make any sense to say this to Biggie, aiming this at Stretch when his own group was called the Live Squad is hurtful.
The passage in full goes:
"
I let the world know nigga you a coward
You could never be live
until you die
see the muthafucken' bitch in your eye"
If in reference to Stretch it makes little sense as Stretch was already dead. Pac is referring to Biggie's proclamations be a "G" but when push came to shove, in Pac's mind, he was really a coward.
Mr Matt said:
4. "When you see me nigga, you better holla at me" - makes more sense that Pac would say this to Stretch as if they could patch up their problems as they were closer friends than Pac and Biggie was, why say this to Biggie and then come out with "Hit em up" a couple of months later?
Firstly Hit 'Em Up was recorded before Holla At Me but only released as a B-side on the How Do You Want It single. Secondly have you never heard of multiple diss tracks from a rapper engaged in beef? What's so strange about that. Thirdly, as mentioned before, Stretch was dead when Holla At Me was released it's hardly a valid line of reasoning for them to patch up their beef if he's lying six feet under now is it? Finally, the line mentioned, "When you see me nigga, you better holla at me", is not an indication by Pac that they could patch up their differences, his sense of betryal ran far too deep for that to occur so soon, but rather it's a statement of bravado i.e. "
when you see me be ready for a showdown".