Davey D: The east/west coast war. That was something that really put a black mark on hip hop. Let's go back to it, because in some ways since i've known you, I could say that Hammer was somebody that definitely planted some seed a long time ago when he did the video dissin' run DMC. There's been that competitive nature and it has moved from pint a to something that has just gotten totally out of hand. How have to seen this whole east/weest coast thing? Is it something that has gotten blown out of proportion? Is it okay to have the competitiveness in rap? And how have you seen your role within that?

MC Hammer: I won't let you get away with that one. The things that run DMC and I did way back in the early 80's, does not compare to all the ignorance that's done today. Run and I are the best of friends. If I call the good reverend on the telephone, were gonna have an intelligent conversation. You'll hear us tell each other I love you and I love you back... Because we understand what we are doing... Even if we had a difference, we never let it get to the point that we wanted to be violent with each other.

I see jam master jay flying different places, we conversate and we laugh about years ago, as a matter of fact, I invited run dMC to become a part of Death Row about a year ago. As a matter of fact, the night Tupac was shot we had run dMC at the club 662 in Las Vegas with the purpose of building a relationship so that we could sign them to Death Row since Death Row was expanding. So once again, were not on the page of east/west coast rivalry thing. You know, I talked to Suge and we brought Erica B in from New York to be the president of Death Row east, so I was all about trying to get this thing to a peace position, certainly not a violent position and my position has always been I don't care where your from.

let me give you an example Davey, on my new album, you'll hear me say some things about too short. I am not being violent with too short, but on several albums of he's made comments about MC Hammer directly and indirectly. It comes a time that a person must put an end to that. I'm not gone start something, I'm gone finish it. I'm going to finish those indirect innuendoes that he makes on his records, but don't want to be violent with too short. No it's not necessary. I'm a check him on these records, the same way that he checked me and we gone leave it at that, and when I see him in the streets, I'm say what's up Todd {too short's real name] how ya feeling?

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he mentioned him here again

You know good and well there ain't no rivalry with a whole coast..Especially if we narrow it down to who is who and who has a problem with who. Who is your problem with? And I'd say this very freely to 2Pac... Man, in this so called east coast west coast we're gonna have to narrow this down man, you can't fight the whole coast and that's real man personal battle is a personal battles name names so other individuals not involved won't get involved and make it bigger.

Davey D: What was it like working with Pac and Suge Knight. What were they like behind the scenes?

MC Hammer: 2 Pac...I really had genuinely brotherly love for Pac when I became a part of the Death Row family, he immediately ran into the studio and woke up the next morning. I had told him about a sang I wanted to do. It was off the Ohio players skin tight I wanted to called it too tight . Before I could get to the studio 2 Pac had gotten up early that morning went to the studio, called in the background singers, laid down the background, wrote a rap he wanted me to rap and it was done. He immediately embraced his partner from the town.

I knew the real 2 Pac not what journalist write about. Where they say they've down with Pac and all that exploitation to make the magazine sell more or make radio station sound better. Somebody wants pretend like because he came by for one interview that they really knew him. But they didn't know him. I knew 2 Pac behind the scenes. This was a genuine, talented young man. This was at the same time a very emotional was, a troubled man. A man that you would really respect and love. He was all of those things.

it was a sad situation for me as his friend as are who stood over his bed in the hospital to see him there in that condition. It brought everything to head for me to say Hammer what could you have done as a friend and as an artist and as a man to have prevented this. I really said to myself on a few occasions that I might could've help stop this thing. Maybe I should've slows Pac down a little bit at times, and I live and wrestle with that a lot cause I was there. I was there in Las Vegas. I saw him right before it happened. He came up to my car and was talking to me. He told me about the incident that had just happen. I asked him some questions about it cause I was concerned. He said it was all squashed. And don't worry about it. And then 15 minutes later he's lying on the sidewalk. Its a very deep situation .

I felt as though that a lot of responsibility just like I accept mine. That at some point the media who likes to remain faceless in situations like this have a lot of responsibility. It was really good to hype up the East vs. West coast war. It sold a lot of magazines, it made radio and television interesting. By hyping this thing up and how when individuals lie there lifeless everybody wanna back up and pretend like they don't have anything to do with this and they wanna ask how can we solve this. We could've solved this by not exploiting this from the beginning.