Angie Martinez's Unaired 1996 Tupac Interview, Recorded at His Los Angeles Home, Hits Netflix Nov. 27

For nearly 30 years, Angie Martinez held on to one of the last long-form interviews Tupac Shakur ever gave. On November 27, Netflix will release it. The Tupac Tapes with Angie Martinez, a four-part video podcast series hosted by the radio veteran, marks the first time the full conversation will be heard by the public.

Martinez, then a young host at New York's Hot 97, flew to Los Angeles in 1996 to sit down with Shakur at his home, at his invitation. A few months later, the 25-year-old rapper was dead.

Why the Full Interview Never Aired

At the time, Martinez played only select segments, chiefly Shakur's insistence that he was not at war with the entire East Coast. She shelved the more inflammatory material. The interview took place at the height of the East Coast-West Coast feud, and she has said she worried that airing everything could hurt people, damage relationships and add fuel to an already dangerous situation.

Shakur's death made the decision heavier. Martinez was on the air at Hot 97 when the news broke and had to tell her listeners herself, which she has called one of the most emotional moments of her career. Afterward, she says, she felt responsible for protecting a conversation that was never meant to be his final statement.

Her own approach to the tape at the time was literal: she edited it by hand at the station, cutting it with a razor blade to decide what could responsibly air.

What's on the Tapes

The official trailer offers a first look at what was held back. In one clip, Shakur declares, "I've done more for credibility in hip-hop than any f**king artist." In another, he pushes back when Martinez suggests people had shown him love, questioning what that love really looked like.

Beyond the anger over his conflicts with New York, Martinez says the conversation reveals pain, frustration and a sense of betrayal. She hopes audiences come away seeing him as "a brilliant, flawed, deeply human young man."

Who Joins Martinez

Rather than simply playing the tape, the series pairs the original audio with reflections from 15 voices who lived through the era, including Charlamagne Tha God, Joe Budden, Big Boy, RZA, Dream Hampton, Wallo, Monie Love, Bootleg Kev, Ed Lover, Lil' Cease, E.D.I. Mean and Matt Barnes. The four episodes follow two threads: hip-hop, media and the wider world in 1996, and Martinez's own experience as a young radio host sitting on sensitive material.

Martinez executive produces alongside Brittany Ortiz, Matt Barnes, Brian Dailey, Stephen Jackson, Jelani McCoy and Christina Mizzi, with IRL Productions and All the Smoke Productions behind the series.

Why Now

Martinez, a Radio Hall of Famer and New York Times bestselling author, told Netflix she sees the recordings as a piece of hip-hop history that shouldn't stay locked away forever. This time, she says, she can release them with context, examining what was happening and why, instead of just letting the most explosive moments go viral.

The release lands weeks after Duane "Keffe D" Davis was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for orchestrating Shakur's September 1996 murder, a reminder that the era's consequences were never just mythology. More than anything, Martinez says, she hopes listeners leave with more empathy for Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. alike.

The Tupac Tapes with Angie Martinez premieres November 27 on Netflix.