November 15, 1986: The Beastie Boys release “Licensed to Ill”

November 15, 1986: The Beastie Boys release Licensed to Ill. It paved the way for white guys to rap, leading to Eminem -- but also, unfortunately, to Vanilla Ice and Snow.

The Boys were Adam Nathaniel Yauch, born August 5, 1964 in Brooklyn to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother; Michael Louis Diamond, born November 20, 1965 in Manhattan to a Jewish couple; and Adam Keefe Horovitz, born October 31, 1966 in Manhattan to a Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother.

In 1979, Diamond, a.k.a. Mike D, founded a punk rock band, The Young Aborigines, becoming the drummer. In 1981, Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, became their bass guitarist. Their guitarist, John Berry, suggested the name be changed to The Beastie Boys. As an afterthought, they decided that "BEASTIE" was an acronym standing for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Inner Excellence." In 1983, Horovitz, a.k.a. Ad-Rock, replaced Berry. After that, they began shifting from punk to hip-hop.

In 1984, Rick Rubin was brought in as DJ. By 1985, they were big enough to open for Madonna's tour. In 1986, they were a part of a tour led by Queens natives Run-DMC and LL Cool J. All along, song by song, piece by piece, they recorded the album that became the album Licensed to Ill, a parody of the expression "licensed to kill," with "ill" being rap slang for being of high quality, and its verb form meaning to perform very well.

The 1st 3 singles failed to chart: "Hold It Now, Hit It," "Paul Revere" and "The New Style." "Brass Monkey" only got to Number 48. But (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" caught on at the end of 1986, and rose to Number 7 early in 1987.

The song was written by Yauch and band friend Tom "Tommy Triphammer" Cushman, who appeared in the video. The song was meant as an insignificant portrayal of "party" and "attitude"-themed songs, such as "Smokin' in the Boys Room" by Brownsville Station and "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister. They meant it to be a joke, to make fun of these dopes.

Unfortunately, as with later songs like "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred and "Gangnam Style" by Psy, people didn't get the joke. They thought this was the Boys' intended public personality. And the dopes they were mocking took it especially seriously, making the song one of the biggest anthems of the 1980s... and went on to knock up their girlfriends and conceive the cast of Jersey Shore.

The Beasties released a total of 8 albums, none of them keeping the image they'd inadvertently created for themselves: Licensed to Ill was followed by Paul's Boutique in 1989, Check Your Head in 1992, Ill Communication in 1994, Hello Nasty in 1998, To the 5 Boroughs in 2004, The Mix-Up in 2007, and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two in 2011. Ill Communication included the other song for which the group is well known: "Sabotage," with its video showing them parodying 1970s cop shows.

The Beasties became icons for hip-hop fans, for New Yorkers, and for Jewish kids who wanted to rock. But despite releasing 8 albums in 25 years, it ended too soon. On May 4, 2012, Adam Yauch died from lymph node cancer. He was 47 years old. Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond announced that, while they would still make music together, the Beastie Boys name would be retired.

*

November 15, 1986 was a Saturday. Actor Winston Duke was born.

Baseball was out of season. Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 University of Miami beat the University of Tulsa, 23-10 at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami.

* Number 2 Michigan were shocked by Minnesota, 20-17 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, costing them the Little Brown Jug and a shot at the National Championship. It did not, however, cost the Wolverines the Big Ten Conference title, as, the next week, they beat Ohio State to clinch it. Michigan then went to the Rose Bowl.

* Number 3 Penn State beat Notre Dame, 24-19 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Penn State were probably going to be invited to the Fiesta Bowl regardless of what happened elsewhere, but Michigan's loss made them Number 2, setting up a de facto National Championship game and a "Game of the Century" with Number 1 Miami at the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State won.

* Number 4 Oklahoma beat Colorado, 28-0 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. Oklahoma won the Big 8 Conference title, and were invited to the Orange Bowl.

* Number 5 Arizona State beat Wichita State, 52-6 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. Arizona State won the Pacific-Ten Conference title, went to the Rose Bowl, and beat Michigan.

* Number 6 Nebraska beat Kansas, 70-0 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. The next week, Nebraska lost to arch-rival Oklahoma, costing them the Big 8 title. Instead, they were invited to the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 7 Texas A&M were upset by Number 17 Arkansas, 14-10 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. It didn't stop A&M from winning the Southwest Conference title, and receiving the accompanying bid to the Cotton Bowl. But Arkansas did get invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma.

* Number 8 Auburn were upset by Number 16 Georgia, 20-16 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The game cost Auburn the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 9 Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 30-17 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Ohio State were invited to the Cotton Bowl, where they beat Texas A&M.

* Number 10 Washington were held to a tie by Number 19 UCLA, 17-17 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

 and Air Force had the week off.

* Number 12 Louisiana State University beat Mississippi State, 47-0 at Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson. LSU won the SEC title, and the accompanying bid to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Nebraska.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, lost to the University of Pittsburgh, 20-6 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Washington Bullets, 104-97 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 109-90 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-111 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. Robert Parish scored 34 points. Despite the defeat, Adrian Dantley led all scorers on the day with 41 for the Pistons.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-96 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Phoenix Suns eat the San Antonio Spurs, 116-109 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets, 111-103 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors, 127-121 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Tom Chambers scored 38.

And there were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Minnesota North Stars, 7-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 5-5 at the Boston Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Quebec Nordiques, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Blues beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal go to Hampshire on the South Coast, and beat Southampton, 4-0 at The Dell.

November 9, 1993: Wu-Tang Clan Release "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)"

November 9, 1993: The rap group Wu-Tang Clan release their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), on Loud Records. It becomes a landmark in hip-hop culture, certified as Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America within 2 years.

The members of Wu-Tang Clan were New Yorkers, and some seem to have had multiple nicknames:

* Gary Eldridge Grice, born August 22, 1966, from Brooklyn: GZA and The Genius. As the oldest member and the 1st to get any kind of a record deal, he is called the group's "spiritual head."

* Russell Tyrone Jones, born November 15, 1968, from Brooklyn, this guy had more nicknames than James Brown: Ol' Dirty Bastard, ODB, Dirt Dog, Dirt McGirt, Old Dirty Chinese Restaurant, Ason Unique, Joe Bananas, The Specialist, Ossirus, Big Baby Jesus and Knifey McStab.

* Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, born July 5, 1969, from Brooklyn: RZA, Bobby Digital and The RZArector.

* Elgin Turner, who legally changed his name to Jamel Irief, born August 18, 1969 (as Woodstock was wrapping up), from Brooklyn: Masta Killa, Noodles and High Chief.

* Corey Woods, born January 12, 1970 in Brooklyn, but grew up in Staten Island: Raekwon The Chef, or Shallah Raekwon, or just Raekwon, or Lex Diamonds, probably a variation on 1920s New York gangster Legs Diamond.

* Dennis Coles, born May 9, 1970, from Staten Island: Ghostface Killah, Tony Starks and D-Love.

* Jason Richard Hunter, born July 6, 1970, from Staten Island: Inspectah Deck, Rollie Fingers (after the Baseball Hall of Fame reliever with the handlebar mustache), Fifth Brother and Rebel INS.

* Lamont Jody Hawkins, born November 10, 1970 in Brooklyn, but grew up on Staten Island: U-God, short for Universal God, or Golden Arms.

* Clifford Smith Jr., born March 2, 1971, from Hempstead, Long Island, but met some of the others while visiting his grandmother on Staten Island: Method Man, Johnny Blaze (after the Marvel Comics superhero Ghost Rider), Tical and Shakwon. He has since gone on to a successful acting career.

* Oliver Grant, born November 2, 1973 in Jamaica, but grew up in Staten Island: Power, because, while not actually a member of the group, he produced all their albums, and seriously funded 36 Chambers. He came into the group's orbit because he was friends with RZA's brother, Divine.

* Selwyn Bougard, who legally changed his name to El-Divine Amir Bey, born May 23, 1974 in Steubenville, Ohio, but raised on Staten Island: 4th Disciple.

RZA, GZA and ODB were cousins. They were also cousins of Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. RZA's brother Terrance Hamlin is a rapper, calling himself 9th Prince. Singer-songwriter SZA, a generation younger than RZA, GZA and ODB, is not related to them.

The group took their name from the 1983 martial arts film Shaolin and Wu Tang. The origin of the word "Wu-tang" derives from Wu Dang, the Taoist holy mountain located in the Central China in the Hubei Province. The album's title also came from martial arts films, Bruce Lee's 1973 epic Enter the Dragon, and the 1978 film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

At this point, New York City was widely seen as having forfeited leadership in rap to the West Coast, particularly to Los Angeles and, in the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland. The Clan re-planted the Big Apple's flag, and drew blood from the ground. But they also -- intentionally -- drew some laughs. The balance of seriousness and humor helped, and helped inspire Brooklynites Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and Nas, and the Queens duo Prodigy and Havoc, a.k.a. Mobb Deep.

In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Enter the Wu-Tang 27th on their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, higher than any other rap album. In 2022, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

ODB, long troubled by mental illness and drug use, did not live to see either of these honors: He died of a drug overdose at RZA's recording studio in Manhattan on November 13, 2004. He was 35 years old. As of November 9, 2022, all the other members are still alive.

Wu-Tang Clan fans consider Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to be the 36 Chambers of white boy albums. Wu-Tang Clan fans are also frequently stoned out of their minds.

Still, if you type "Enter" into Wikipedia, this album comes up before Enter the Dragon. And if you type "cream" into YouTube, this song comes up before "Sunshine of Your Love." So when you can get precedence over Bruce Lee and Eric Clapton, that's an achievement.

UPDATE: Power Grant died on February 23, 2026, only 52 years old. No cause was released.

*

November 9, 1993 was a Tuesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-86 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 86-80 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers, 104-98 at the Orlando Arena. Shaquille O'Neal scored 37 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 113-108 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-112 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-95 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. David Robinson led all scorers on the night with 43 points.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors, 102-93 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-99 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson both scored 35 points for the Suns.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 109-102 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Denver Nuggets, 118-86 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 5-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Quebec Nordiques, 2-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues played to a tie, 3-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2. This game was played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, as part of the NHL's experiment with neutral-site games, to see which markets were ripe for expansion.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks played to a tie, 2-2 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).

October 30, 2002: Jam Master Jay Is Killed

Left to right: Joseph Simmons (Run),

Jason Mizell (Jam Master Jay), Darryl McDaniels (DMC)

October 30, 2002: Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC is murdered, shot at his recording studio in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. He was 37 years old.

"Run" was Joseph Ward Simmons, born Number 14, 1964 in Hollis, Queens. "DMC" was Darryl Matthews McDaniels, born May 17, 1964 in Harlem, Manhattan. And "Jam Master Jay" was Jason William Mizell, born January 21, 1965 in Brooklyn. Both McDaniels and Mizell moved to Hollis as children.

All 3 members started out as deejays, influenced by the 1st rap deejay to make it big, Grandmaster Flash, leader of the Furious Five. Run got his start with a rapper managed by his brother Russell Simmons, Kurtis Blow. Soon thereafter, Run met DMC, then a deejay calling himself Easy D, and convinced him to start rapping. Not long after that, they heard a sound coming from Two-Fifths Park in Hollis, where they met Jam Master Jay.

Run and DMC liked Jay's clothing style, with Kangol caps, leather jackets and Adidas sneakers, and soon followed suit, marking them as different from the first group of rappers, who preferred disco-style outfits including tight leather pants, and now became known as "old school." With Jay taking over deejay duties, Run and DMC were free to freestyle, and Run-DMC was born. (McDaniels has said that "DMC" could also stand for "Devastating Mic Controller.")

They released their self-titled 1st album in 1984, and blew every other rap act away. King of Rock followed the next year, Raising Hell the year after that. Raising Hell included a team-up with Aerosmith, a rap cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." It hit Number 4 on Billboard's Hot 100, becoming a bigger hit than either group had yet had separately. It gave rap credibility with hard rock fans, and vice versa: Ice-T's band Body Count wouldn't have been possible without it. Then again, neither would the career of Kid Rock, so maybe these things even out.

In 1987, Run-DMC released the 1st rap Christmas song to make it big, "Christmas in Hollis." It was featured in the film Die Hard in 1988. That year, the group starred in the film Tougher Than Leather, and released it soundtrack album. This would be followed by Back from Hell in 1990, and Down with the King in 1993.

But as so often happens, real life and side projects intervened. The members got married, and worked with others, including DMC discovering fellow Queens native Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent. The group reunited for the album Crown Royal in 2001. But after Jay was shot and killed, Run and DMC announced that the group was disbanding. It wouldn't be Run-DMC without Jay.

It took a long time, but in August 2020, Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. were arrested for the crime. Their trial is set for February 2023. (UPDATE: The trail was delayed until 2024. They were convicted on February 27. The trial revealed that they targeted Jay after being cut out of a drug deal.)

In 2007, MTV named Run-DMC the greatest hip hop group of all time. The same year, VH1 (an offshoot of MTV) named them the greatest hip hop artists, soloists and groups combined. In 2009, they became the 2nd rap act, after Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

McDaniels has stayed in the music business, and has also written comic books. Simmons became a minister, now nicknamed "Reverend Run." He and his family were featured on the MTV reality series Run's House. His brother, Russell Simmons, is the founder of Def Jam Records. Another brother, Danny Simmons is a renowned painter. Run's daughter, Vanessa Simmons, is a television personality, in a long-term relationship with actor Michael Wayans, making her part of a 2nd show-business family. Another daughter, Angela Simmons, is a fashion designer. His son Joseph Jr., or "JoJo," runs a record label. Another son, Daniel III or "Diggy," appears on the TV sitcom Grown-ish.

*

October 30, 2002 was a Wednesday. Baseball season had ended 3 days earlier, with the team then known as the Anaheim Angels beating the San Francisco Giants, in Game 7 of the World Series.

Football was in midweek, although this was the day that New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards gave the press conference where he announced, "You play to win the game!" I have a separate entry for that event.

Every NBA team then in operation, except for the Sacramento Kings, played that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 86-77 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, New York.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-94 at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands. Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson scored 34 points for the Hawks, but it wasn't enough.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 98-95 at the First Union Center (now the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 99-96 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat, 100-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 119-108 at The Pyramid in Memphis.

* The New Orleans Hornets make their debut, after 14 seasons as the original Charlotte Hornets. Ironically, it's against the last team to represent New Orleans in the NBA, the Utah Jazz, who left in 1979. The Hornets win, 100-75 at the New Orleans Arena (now named the Smoothie King Center). Karl Malone scores 20 points for the visitors, and John Stockton 14. But Baron Davis of the Hornets leads all scorers with 21 points, while Courtney Alexander scores 19 off the bench.

In 2004, Charlotte got a new NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the NBA made a deal but which the New Orleans franchise gave up the Hornets name, and became the New Orleans Pelicans. In 2014, the Bobcats reclaimed their city's old name, and became the Charlotte Hornets.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards, 74-68 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets, 91-82 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Steve Francis scored 39 points for the Rockets, but it wasn't enough. It was the NBA debut for Yao Ming. I have a separate entry for that event.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 83-77 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-96 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 106-98 atthe Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland). Antawn Jamison scored 36 points.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-90 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 86-73 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

There were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 7-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. The Bruin goals came from 7 different scorers: P.J. Axelsson, Rob Zamuner, Jozef Stümpel, Brian Rolston, Bryan Berard, Joe Thornton and Glenn Murray.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Corel Center (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators, 7-0 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis. Like the Bruins, the Blues got 7 goals from 7 different players on this night: Reed Lowe, Al MacInnis, Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Petr Čajánek, Shjon Podein and Dallas Drake.

* And the Florida Panthers beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Valeri Bure scored the winning goal with 1:39 left in overtime. Bure was the younger, less successful brother of Hall-of-Famer Pavel Bure, but he's probably better remembered for his wife, actress Candace Cameron Bure. Attendance at this game: 18,532, matching the title of the sitcom starring his wife: Full House.

October 28, 2011: The "Watch the Throne" Tour Begins

Kanye West (left) and Jay-Z

October 28, 2011: The Watch the Throne Tour begins, at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta. It remains the highest-grossing tour in hip-hop history.

It was in support of Watch the Throne, a collaborative effort between what were already two of the biggest names in rap history: Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kanye West. It was released on August 8, and it was practically a rap Justice League, also featuring Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, The-Dream (Terius Nash), Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi), Seal (Seal Samuel) and others. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, known as The Neptunes when they worked together, produced it, with assistance from Q-Tip (Kamaal Fareed) and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean -- whose wife, singer Alicia Keys, was not involved with the album).

The 1st single, "H-A-M," introduced the expression "Go HAM" into the lexicon, meaning "Hard As a Motherfucker." It only reached Number 32. The 2nd single, "Otis," reached Number 12. A later single, titled "Niggas In Paris," reached Number 5.

The tour came to the New York Tri-Stare Area a week in, playing the Meadowlands Arena (then named the Izod Center) on November 5 and 6, and Madison Square Garden on November 7 and 8. Later in the month, it moved on to Canada, playing the Bell Centre in Montreal on November 22, and the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto on November 23 and 24. As the tour moved west, it went back into Canada on December 17 and 18, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

After that 2nd Vancouver show, the tour took a break, then headed across the Atlantic Ocean. Between May 18 and June 22, it played the British Isles cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Sheffield; and also played in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Despite Kanye's difficult personality, both already-established and later on, there was no indication of friction between him and Jay-Z, or any of the other performers. The tour did so well that comedian Chris Rock said, "This might be the greatest show I ever saw. It's the equivalent of the Billy Joel-Elton John tour, but if they did it in 1979, when the songs were hot!"

For perspective: When the tour began, Jay-Z was about to turn 42, and Kanye was 34; whereas, when they began their 1st Face to Face Tour, Elton John was 47, and Billy Joel was 45. But Elton and Billy had already been having hits for 20 years. Jay-Z's 1st Top 10 hit, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," came in 1998, 13 years earlier; while Kanye's, "All Falls Down," came in 2004, just 7 years earlier. So while Rock was a little off on the ages, he was pretty close to where each of the 4 men was in his career at the respective times.

*

October 28, 2011 was a Wednesday. Game 7 of the World Series was played. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Football was in midweek. The NBA season was delayed, due to the team owners locking the players out, and the season did not begin until Christmas Day. There were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2 at the Joe Louis Arena.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* And the Calgary Flames beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

September 26, 2010: "Epic Rap Battles of History" Premieres

EpicLLOYD (left) and Nice Peter

September 26, 2010: Epic Rap Battles of History premieres on YouTube. Like Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire," it has inspired millions to look up its historical references. Unlike that song, it is frequently, and intentionally, really, really funny.

It's the product of the demented minds of Peter Shukoff and Lloyd Ahlquist, a.k.a. Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD, respectively. Figures from history, both real and fictional, have a rap battle against each other, defying the laws of space and time so that, not only can people who are dead appear to be alive and rap against those who are still alive, but the dead ones know everything about their opponents, and life on Earth in general since their own deaths, coming up with some zingers that are, well, epic.

Peter told the story of how the concept began. Both he and Lloyd were already "YouTube celebrities." They got invited to a party in Los Angeles -- Peter is from Rochester, New York, and Lloyd is from Staten Island -- where they roleplayed while rapping. Lloyd was asked to play Justin Bieber. But this was early in Bieber's career, and Lloyd didn't know who he was. He thought it was "Justin Beaver." (Actually, the German word for "beaver" is "biber.") So he dropped a lot of jokes about buck teeth and chewing wood, and while he was used to getting laughs, he couldn't understand why they were coming when they did.

So Peter suggested they should have an "epic rap battle." Who should it be? Somebody suggested John Lennon, despite his already being dead for almost 30 years, against right-wing Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. The 1st episode was Peter, wearing a copy of Lennon's uniform from The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, complete with round sunglasses; against Lloyd as O'Reilly. I'll be charitable, and say that they got better.

In the 2nd episode, they got a lot better. Peter played Darth Vader from Star Wars, and Lloyd played Adolf Hitler. This time, and every time since, the lyrics were put on the screen, in case the listener got confused as to a reference: They could then look it up. Vader's 1st line may still be the best zinger in the series' history: "You can't rhyme with the Dark Side of the Force. Why even bother? So many dudes been with your mom, who even knows if I'm your father?"

Cringey jokes about the Holocaust, and Vader's blatant cheating, aside, the battle caught fire on the Internet, and has since had over 100 million views. It inspired 2 sequels, each of which also had jokes that skirted the line of good taste, and Vader cheating to win. I mean, rooting for Hitler is wrong, but someone as powerful as Darth Vader shouldn't need to cheat in order to win.

The show took off from there, and is still running. Usually, the opponents will have something in common, although that won't always be obvious. Maybe it's a job: They had artists Pablo Picasso and Bob Ross face each other, and magicians Harry Houdini and David Copperfield. Maybe, it's just a name: Napoleon Bonaparte vs. the fictional Napoleon Dynamite.

Sometimes, they go for apparent polar opposites: Mr. T vs. Mr. Rogers. Peter really wanted to have Miley Cyrus for a battle after her teddy-bear performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and tried for days to think of an appropriate opponent, a polar opposite. Finally, someone suggested Joan of Arc.

Which led to an irony: Joan was played by Jessi Smiles, then considered the queen of the app Vine, enabling 7-second videos. (Miley was played by Michelle Glavan.) Joan famously died a virgin, while Jessi became the 2nd ERB'er to have a baby after appearing.

The 1st was even more ironic: Angela Trimbur played Cleopatra against Kimmy Gatewood's Marilyn Monroe. Kimmy was not only the 1st ERB'er to have a baby after appearing, she also became the 1st one to appear after having one, when she later played Hillary Clinton against Lloyd's Donald Trump. The irony here is that Cleopatra hit Marilyn with a line that was, literally, hitting below the belt, and probably shouldn't have been used: "You still got no kids after your third marriage. You've lost so many babies, we should call you Miss Carriage!" (The real Marilyn had at least 2 miscarriages. The real Cleopatra had 2 children, but neither long outlived her.)

They've had various "Internet celebrities," male and female, as guest stars, and even some real celebrities: In their 1st Christmas episode, Peter played Santa Claus, and no less a rapper than Snoop Dogg played Moses. A foul-mouthed black Moses. (Yes, these videos usually have profanity, sex jokes, and references to the characters' perceived dick size.) Weird Al Yankovic played Isaac Newton, rapping against Peter as Bill Nye The Science Guy. Rapper T-Pain played Stevie Wonder, against Wonder Woman, played by Lilly Singh, who was then an Internet celebrity but has since gotten a bit more famous.

The comedy team of Key & Peele have been on twice: Keegan-Michael Key played Mohandas Gandhi against Jordan Peele's Martin Luther King, and Key played Michael Jordan against Peele's Muhammad Ali.

Once year, on the average, they'll have a battle royale, with 5 different characters, although that usually means each character only gets one round, and nobody gets a chance to respond.

In 2012, 2016 and 2020, they had Presidential election battles. Iman Crosson played Barack Obama, and Lloyd played Mitt Romney. That battle remains their most-watched, over 151 million views, 1 of 7 they've had to top 100 million. (As of September 26, 2022, 3 others have at least 95 million.)

A few characters have appeared twice, but Trump is the only one to be played by 2 different people. Peter played Trump in a 2013 Christmas piece, which featured frequent guest Zach Sherwin as Ebenezer Scrooge. Peter played Trump through his personality on The Apprentice, with no idea that Trump would ever carry through on his occasional threat to run for President.

But in 2016, Lloyd played Trump, with not just the exaggerated hair that Peter had, but with the orange tan and the padded gut, while the aforementioned Kimmy Gatewood played Hillary. In 2020, Lloyd played Trump again, while Peter played Joe Biden.

All 4 Presidents on Mount Rushmore have been portrayed. In the 3rd battle, Peter played Abe Lincoln against Lloyd's Chuck Norris. Peter played George Washington against Lloyd's William "Braveheart" Wallace. Peter played Thomas Jefferson against Frederick Douglass, played by guest celebrity J.B. Smoove (these days, best known for playing Caesar in the ads of Caesars online gambling). And Lloyd played Theodore Roosevelt against Winston Churchill, played by British Internet celebrity Dan Bull, who had previously played Jack the Ripper against Peter's Hannibal Lecter. Peter also played John F. Kennedy is a one-second cameo in Cleopatra vs. Marilyn.

Peter as Lincoln stepped into the Obama-Romney and Trump-Hillary battles. In the former, he was unhappy with both of them. In the latter, he told Hillary to "beat this dummy!" She did -- in the popular vote, anyway. In 2020, Biden didn't need Lincoln to beat Trump -- in real life, or in the ERB.

They've had superheroes: Superman vs. Goku from Dragon Ball Z, Batman vs. Sherlock Holmes, the aforementioned Wonder Woman vs. Stevie Wonder, Deadpool vs. Boba Fett from Star Wars, and Bruce Banner vs. Bruce Jenner -- with Lloyd's Banner transforming into the Hulk, played by bodybuilder Mike O'Hearn; and Peter's Jenner transforming into Caitlyn Jenner, played by the series' 1st transgender performer, Jolie Drake, who performs under the name No Shame.

Bentley Green played a child Michael Jackson, and Peter put on one of his best performances as the "adult" Jackson, while Lloyd played both the young and thin and the older and fat Elvis Presley.

Thus far, over 12 years, with Season 7 officially underway, there have been 85 battles, with 2 more having been announced, including 1 for October 2022.

UPDATE: That turned out to be Peter as Indiana Jones vs. Croix Provence as Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider franchise. They had an election 2024 battle, with Lloyd playing Trump against Kimberly Michelle Vaughn's Kamala Harris. Napoleon Bonaparte became the 2nd non-sequel returnee, and the 2nd figure to be played by both regulars, as Peter played him against Lloyd's Charlemagne.

*

September 26, 2010 was a Sunday. This was also the day that the TV series Downton Abbey premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. Baseball's greatest rivalry: It's epic, it's had some "rapping," it's been a battle, and there's been plenty of history. This time, Juan Miranda took a bases-loaded walk from Hideki Okajima to win it in the bottom of the 10th inning. This made a winning pitcher out of Boone Logan (to my shock), in relief of Phil Hughes. Alex Rodriguez hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 0-for-4, but did draw a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Florida Marlins, 7-1 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 12-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 16-9 at the Oakland Coliseum.

And these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Tennessee Titans, 29-10 at the New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium).

* The New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-23 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 38-30 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Baltimore Ravens beat their replacements in their former hometown, the Cleveland Browns, 24-17 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Carolina Panthers, 20-7 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 28-3 at EverBank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 38-13 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 27-24 at the Superdome in New Orleans. It was the only overtime game of the week, and Matt Bryant won it with a 46-yard field goal with 1:55 left.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions, 24-10 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the Washington Redskins, 30-16 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the other Texas team, the Houston Texans, 27-13 at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos, 27-13 at Invesco Field at Mile High (now Empower Field at Mile High) in Denver.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Oakland Raiders, 24-23 at University of Phoenix Stadium (now State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers, 27-20 at Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the next night, on Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 20-17 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

September 16, 1979: The Sugarhill Gang Release "Rapper's Delight"

September 16, 1979: "Rapper's Delight" is released. It is usually considered the 1st rap song to become a hit single.

The group was The Sugarhill Gang, from Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey. Big Bank Hank Johnson died in 2014, at age 58. As of September 16, 2002, Wonder Mike Wright and Guy "Master Gee" O’Brien are still alive.

The record is produced by Sylvia Robinson, who would also go on to produce Grandmaster Flash's "The Message." Between these 2 trailblazing songs, she became known as The Mother of Hip-Hop. She had a pretty good career even before that: In 1957, with Mickey "Guitar" Baker, she had a hit record, "Love Is Strange." In 1973, she had a solo hit with "Pillow Talk" – after offering it to Al Green, who turned it down on religious grounds. (But he had no problem singing "Let's Stay Together.") She died in 2011.

*

September 16, 1979 was a Sunday. This was the day of another debut in hip-hop, as Flo Rida was born.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 8-4 at Yankee Stadium. It was an ending and a beginning: It was Catfish Hunter Day, as the veteran pitcher was retiring, and made his last major league appearance the next day (he went 6 1/3rd innings and received a no-decision in a loss to Cleveland); and the major league debut of Dave Righetti, who started, and allowed 3 runs over 5 innings.

Chris Chambliss and Roy White hit home runs -- the last of White's career, and the next-to-last for Chambliss as a Yankee. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4 with a walk. Goose Gossage fell apart, allowing 4 runs in the top of the 12th inning, his 6th inning of work.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Pete Falcone pitched 8 innings of 7-hit shutout ball, and Neil Allen finished the 7-hit shutout. Dan Norman hit a home run for the Mets. Willie Stargell appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* A doubleheader was split at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The St. Louis Cardinals won the opener, 4-3. The Montreal Expos won the nightcap, 5-1. Dave Cash hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Pete Rose went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 13-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 2-for-5. Carl Yastrzemski, 40 and 4 days removed from his 3,000th career hit, went 0-for-1 before being relieved.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Gorman Thomas hit a home run. Robin Yount went 1-for-4. Paul Molitor went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rod Carew went 2-for-4.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Johnny Bench went 2-for-4.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

And these NFL games were played:

* The New York Jets beat the Detroit Lions, 31-10 at Shea Stadium.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons, 20-17 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints, 26-14 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears, 24-20 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-6 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Colts, 13-10 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-14 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Green Bay Packers, 21-10 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-12 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 24-21 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Buffalo Bills, 27-19 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Rams beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, 27-24 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Oakland Raiders, 27-10 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 27-0 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

September 13, 1996: The Death of Tupac Shakur

September 13, 1996: Tupac Shakur dies, 6 days after being shot in Las Vegas. The rapper and actor was 25 years old, but had already built a career that, more than a quarter of a century later, has hip-hop fans hailing him as one of the best and most influential rappers of all time.

Lesane Parish Crooks was born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem. His mother, Afeni Shakur, "wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture, and not just from a neighborhood." So, when he was one year old, she renamed him Tupac Amaru Shakur, after a Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the last ruler of the Incas, executed in Peru in 1781, after his failed revolt against Spanish rule.

Both of his parents had been members of the Black Panther Party. His godmother, JoAnne Chesimard, a.k.a. Assata Shakur, was convicted for her role in the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper in 1973, escaped from prison, and fled to Cuba.

In 1984, Afeni and Tupac moved to Baltimore. At the Baltimore School for the Arts, he studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet, and became friends with Jada Pinkett. Later to become an actress, Jada has called Tupac the love of her life. This became one of the complications in her marriage to rapper-actor Will Smith.

In 1988, the Shakurs moved to Marin City, California. Marin County, north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, is mostly wealthy. Marin City is at the other end of the economic spectrum. Tupac did not graduate from high school, although he later got his GED. But he "graduated" to stardom in the West Coast hip hop scene, with his 1991 album 2Pacalypse Now.

That would be the 1st of 4 albums released his lifetime, along with Strictly 4 My N.I.G.A.A.Z... in 1993, Me Against the World in 1995, and the 1st double-length album in hip-hop history, All Eyez on Me, in 1996. Like many other rappers, he got into acting, and had more success than most, including co-starring with Janet Jackson in the 1993 film Poetic Justice. Most of his roles were similar to his image, as an introspective but tough guy.

But Tupac was no saint. In 1993, he was arrested in Atlanta for shooting 2 off-duty police officers, who were charged with making false statements. All charges ended up being dropped. In 1994, he was convicted of 2 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, although he was acquitted of several other charges. He was sentenced to 18 months to 4 1/2 years in prison, and ended up serving 8 months at New York's Riker's Island.

In 1993, Tupac became friends with Christopher Wallace, the Brooklyn-based rapper who called himself The Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls. (Tupac also had multiple identities, including 2Pac and Makaveli.) It appears that Tupac was the man who told Biggie that Sean Combs -- at the time, known as Puff Daddy -- would make him a star. Which happened.

On November 30, 1994, while in New York recording verses for a mixtape of Ron G, was shot in the studio's lobby. He recovered at the home of actress Jasmie Guy, who became his friend after he appeared on the sitcom A Different World.

The relationship between Tupac and Biggie had deteriorated. Biggie recorded a song titled "Who Shot Ya?" As rappers frequently do, Tupac recorded an answer song, "Hit 'Em Up." Not only did it accuse Biggie and his people of knowing who the shooter was, but included the line, "You claim to be a player, but I fucked your wife!" It was an insinuation that Tupac had had sex with singer Faith Evans, whom Biggie had married. The video was devastating, as Tupac delivered the line to a Biggie lookalike, complete with "pimp cane," who just nodded his head at the accusation. Only 2 people have ever known whether it was true: Tupac, who said it, and never changed his story; and Faith, who has always denied it.

And so the feud -- really, a sub-feud within the East Coast vs. West Coast rap rivalry -- between Biggie and Tupac became the nastiest feud in music history. (Salieri didn't actually have anything to do with the death of Mozart.) If there were ever "peace talks," the general public wasn't aware of them.

On September 7, 1996, Tupac was in Las Vegas, with his boss, Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight, to see the Heavyweight Championship fight between Mike Tyson, a longtime friend of Tupac's, and British boxer Bruce Seldon. It didn't last long: Seldon was the current champ, but former champ Tyson knocked him out in the 1st round.

This fight was at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a new 17,000-seat arena at the MGM Grand Las Vegas casino-hotel. Afterward, in the hotel's lobby -- apparently, Tupac hadn't learned to stay out of lobbies -- someone in their group saw Orlando Anderson, a member of the Crips gang in Compton, California, known as "Baby Lane." That someone had a beef with Anderson, and assaulted him.

Tupac soon stopped by his hotel room, and then headed with Knight to his Death Row nightclub, Club 662, in a black BMW 750iL sedan, part of a larger convoy. At about 11:15 PM, at a traffic light on Las Vegas Boulevard, a white, 4-door, late-model Cadillac sedan pulled up to the passenger side, and an occupant rapidly fired into the car. Tupac was hit 4 times: Once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest. Knight was not hit, but was cut by shards of glass.

Tupac was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and was put on life support. He died 6 days later, at 4:03 PM on September 13. He was 25 years old. He was cremated the next day.

Did Anderson, or somebody working for him, do it? Las Vegas police interviewed him once, and did not arrest him. He later died in an unrelated shooting. Some of Tupac's associates have suggested that Biggie, Diddy, and their people were involved. Biggie had an airtight alibi, but that doesn't mean that someone didn't do it on his behalf -- or without his order. Still, it doesn't fit with Biggie's personality: Maybe someone working for him did it, but he wouldn't have sanctioned it.

Six months later, Biggie was shot and killed on a visit to Los Angeles. Tupac's people have been implicated, but, as with Tupac's own murder, there has never been enough evidence found to bring an indictment. Officially, both murders remain unsolved.

Like some other performers, including Jimi Hendrix, several albums of material have been released under Tupac's name since his death. Also like Hendrix, his fans have gobbled them up, only to realize that there was a reason why the performer didn't release the material while they lived: The performers, themselves, didn't think it was worthy, and it showed.

As with Elvis Presley and Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, there are people who believe that Tupac's death was faked, and that he is still alive. It gets weirder than that: I was listening to the radio late one night, around 2002 or so, and I heard a man calling up the station, saying, "Tupac is talking to me, man." The host assured the caller that Tupac was dead. The caller seemed to understand that, but said that Tupac was talking to him from beyond the grave.

In 2017, in his 1st year of eligibility, Tupac was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

UPDATE: On September 29, 2023, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a member of the Compton Crips gang, was arrested for ordering Tupac's murder. He has also been linked to Biggie's murder.

*

September 13, 1996 was a Friday. Jordan Terrell Carter was born. He grew up to become the rapper Playboi Carti. But that doesn't mean that rap "broke even" that day. He's no Tupac in terms of talent. He's also no Tupac in terms of trouble, but bad enough.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher. Veterans Tim Raines and Mariano Duncan, neither of whom tends to get remembered as Yankees, each got 2 hits. So did rookie Derek Jeter, who does.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-4 at Shea Stadium.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Florida Marlins, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-5 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins, 13-7 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 8-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4. Rickey Henderson appeared as a pinch-hitter for the Padres, but did not reach base.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Cardinal pitchers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? On this occasion, 5: Todd Stottlemyre, 5 1/3rd innings, 75 pitches; T. J. Mathews, 1 2/3rds; Tony Fossas, 1/3rd; Rich Batchelor, 2/3rds and the winning pitcher; and Dennis Eckersley, 2/3rds and the save.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-0 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Esteban Loiaza pitched a 6-hit shutout. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 with a walk, before being replaced in the field.

* And the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics were rained out at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Indians swept, 9-2 and 9-8. Mark McGwire homered in each game, giving him 50 on the season. He finished with 52.