Tupac and LL Cool J’s Forgotten Kidada Jones Connection Explained

Tupac Shakur and LL Cool J are two of hip-hop’s biggest icons, but one of the lesser-discussed connections between them runs through Kidada Jones.

Before Kidada became closely associated with Tupac in 1996, she had dated LL Cool J from roughly 1992 to 1994. LL later discussed the relationship in his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules. Kidada would later date Tupac during the final months of his life.

By September 1996, however, the story had moved beyond simple rivalry. LL and Tupac were both present at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, only days before Tupac was fatally wounded in Las Vegas. Archival footage from that period has continued to fuel interest in their final interactions and the broader network of relationships surrounding them.

What makes the story even more interesting is what happened outside of music.

Only months after LL and Kidada’s relationship ended, LL became the star of a television sitcom connected directly to Kidada’s father, Quincy Jones.

That link leads into another overlooked chapter of 1990s Black entertainment history.

Watch the WWETV Media Short: Tupac vs. LL Cool J: The Kidada Beef Hip-Hop Forgot.