Mariah Carey is looking back on a brief but unforgettable moment with Tupac Shakur — one that still lingers nearly 30 years later.
During an appearance on Brown Bag Mornings on Power 106, the Grammy-winning superstar admitted she once wished she had dated the late rapper. The confession stems from a fleeting encounter at the 1996 American Music Awards, a night when both artists were riding career highs. Carey described the memory with a mix of humor and nostalgia, sparking renewed conversation about what might have been between two of music’s biggest icons.
Carey recalled the exchange as short but magnetic. “He said it like, ‘Hi, Mariah,’ and I was like [ahhh],” she laughed, recalling the butterflies that followed.
At the time, Carey was topping charts with her album Daydream, while Tupac had cemented himself as a cultural force with All Eyez on Me. Despite working in different genres, both were shaping the sound and spirit of the decade.
The singer also remembered Tupac stepping out of a white Rolls-Royce that night, his presence leaving a lasting impression. Although their interaction amounted to little more than a hello, Carey admitted that she wondered what might have been had the circumstances aligned differently.
Her reflection also sheds light on her personal state during that period. In 1993, Carey married Sony executive Tommy Mottola, a relationship often scrutinized for its power imbalance.
By 1996, she was pushing toward independence, both creatively and personally. One year later, she would release Butterfly, a turning point in her career. Against that backdrop, her admiration for Tupac’s energy feels especially poignant.
Fans quickly reacted online to her revelation, imagining the pair as an unlikely yet captivating duo. Some even called them the “ultimate ’90s power couple,” while others reflected on how different music and pop culture might have looked had they connected.
For Carey, the memory remains a wistful what-if. For fans, it’s a reminder of Tupac’s enduring magnetism and the cultural electricity of the ’90s — a decade where two seemingly different worlds of music often collided in unforgettable ways.
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