Music

Mariah Carey on Missed Opportunity of Her and 2Pac Being a Power Couple: 'I Wish'

Mariah says she had "more than butterflies" after a chance encounter with the late 2Pac.

Mariah Carey performing in a sparkly outfit; Tupac Shakur in casual attire with a bandana against a brick wall.
Images via Getty/Samir Hussein/WireImage for ABA & Getty/Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection

Mariah Carey, who quite inspiringly does not acknowledge the concept of time, offered a charming “I wish” when asked in a recent interview about the missed opportunity of being a power couple with the late 2Pac.

During a Brown Bag Mornings conversation on Power 106, as seen below, the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards Video Vanguard honoree was asked about a moment with 2Pac she says gave her “more than butterflies.” In short, she met 2Pac at an awards show, leading to her being a bit flustered the rest of the evening.

“Well, he said it like ‘Hi, Mariah’ and I was like [screams].” Carey, who previously recounted seeing 2Pac roll up in a Rolls Royce in her 2020 memoir. “I was hosting the AMAs that year so I had to keep going back and forth but I wanted to keep going back and forth because that happened.”

Carey went on to say in her Power 106 interview that she would have done a song with Pac, who was fatally shot in Vegas in 1996. She also spoke about her “love” for hip-hop at large.

“It was definitely in spite of anyone telling me not to,” she said. “I just, I love hip-hop and I love the moments that we’re talking about, especially ‘Hi, Mariah.’ So yeah, it was a pretty major moment for me to say the least.”

When noted that she and 2Pac would have made an unmatched power couple at the time, Carey, whose 1999 track “How Much” interpolates 2Pac’s “Me and My Girlfriend,” seemed to enthusiastically agree.

“I wish,” she said.

Here for It All, Carey’s new album, is out Sept. 26. Below, see the lyric video for the album’s second single, “Sugar Sweet,” featuring Shenseea and Kehlani.

ComplexCon returns to Las Vegas on October 25–26, 2025, with over 300 brands and live performances by Young Thug, YEAT & Friends, Peso Pluma, Central Cee, Ken Carson, and more. Get your tickets now.

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