The Angie Martinez Tupac interview has been a known vault story for years. In 1996, she sat with Tupac Shakur at his Los Angeles home, months before his death. Now, she is finally ready to let the world hear a conversation she has kept largely private for nearly three decades. The legendary radio personality’s previously unreleased interview with Tupac Shakur will be featured in a new four-part Netflix project, revisiting one of hip-hop’s most closely guarded recordings.
The decision to hold onto the interview was never as simple as keeping an unreleased conversation in the vault. Speaking with Netflix’s Tudum, Martinez explained that releasing the footage in 1996 could have put relationships at risk and added fuel to an already volatile period in hip-hop. Following Tupac’s death, she also worried that audiences would interpret the recording as his final statement rather than a conversation captured during a specific moment in his life.
Why Did She Hold The Tape?
Martinez has been consistent about why she held the tape.
Part of her hesitation came from wanting to respect the people closest to Tupac. During a 2017 Reddit discussion about potentially releasing the interview, Martinez revealed that she had attempted to contact his mother, Afeni Shakur, to ask how she would have wanted the recording handled. Afeni’s passing interrupted that effort, leaving Martinez without the guidance she had hoped to receive. While she still envisioned making the interview public one day, she remained mindful of the responsibility attached to sharing it.
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“I also realized these tapes were bigger than me,” Martinez said of her decision to reconsider releasing the material.
That realization helped shift her perspective on what the interview could mean beyond her own career. Rather than simply putting previously unheard audio into circulation, Martinez wants the series to give viewers the context surrounding the conversation. The project brings together voices including Charlamagne Tha God, Joe Budden, Big Boy, DJ Hed, Dream Hampton, RZA, Wallo and more, to explore the recording and the circumstances surrounding it.
Watch: The Trailer For The Tupac Tapes
“The difference now is that I have the opportunity to share them with context,” Martinez told Tudum.
The recording has also been part of Martinez’s own story for years. In her 2016 memoir, My Voice, she reflected on her experiences navigating hip-hop radio, interviewing some of the genre’s biggest artists and finding herself in the middle of disputes that extended well beyond the microphone. Her career moves, including her transition from Hot 97 to Power 105.1, offered another look at the relationships and decisions that shaped her time in radio.
With a foreword from J. Cole, My Voice became a New York Times bestseller, introducing readers to stories that went beyond her on-air conversations.
Now, nearly 30 years after sitting down with Tupac, Martinez is revisiting a moment that has remained largely out of public reach. For hip-hop fans, the Netflix project offers more than the chance to hear an unreleased conversation. It opens the door to a piece of history that Martinez has spent decades deciding how, and when, to share.
She has also been clear about why the tapes are coming out now. “They’re a piece of hip-hop history, and I don’t think they should just sit in my possession forever,” she told Tudum. “The difference now is that I have the opportunity to share them with context.” She said the goal is not to “just play the most explosive moments and let people react.”
The Tupac Tapes with Angie Martinez premieres on Netflix on November 27.
