Not much is known about the relationship between late rapper Tupac Shakur and pop icon Madonna back in the 1990's...but we now know who exactly was behind bringing the two entertainers together.
Speaking in a new interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show” on Wednesday, veteran actress and dancer Rosie Perez details how she played cupid for the two music legends in 1993. After her date to the Soul Train Awards stood her up citing his fear of getting in trouble with his actual girlfriend, Perez and her close friend Shakur opted to go with her in an attempt to make that guy jealous
“‘I’m gonna go with you. We’re gonna walk up in there, we’re gonna act like we’re on a date and he’s going to die,’” Perez recalled Shakur saying.
Once there, they ran into Madonna, who inquired about whether or not the two of them were actually together. When Perez revealed that they were only faking, that’s when the Material Girl asked if Perez could hook her up with the “All Eyez On Me” rapper. The rest is history.
This isn’t the first time Perez opened up about being the matchmaker behind Shakur and Madonna. She also hilariously detailed the night in an interview on “The View” back in 2015.
“When we get to Soul Train Music Awards, every female artists there was on my [butt],” Perez said at the time. “And they kept going ‘Hi Rosie, hi! Hi!’ [People] who never spoke to me before. Yes! And there were two girls, they will remain nameless actually wanted to beat me up.”
Shakur and Madonna’s relationship, while fun at first, wouldn’t last that long. After meeting in 1993, the two called it quits just two years later. Madonna confirmed in 2015 that the two were an item during an interview with Howard Stern. An old letter from the late rapper to Madonna also resurfaced that same year.