Why Did Rashida Jones Write a Letter to Tupac?

Few names have meant more in the world of music than that of Quincy Jones. The legendary producer had a profound impact on music, and his legacy is still shaping artists today. Following the news of his death, people are looking back at the story of his life and of those in his family.

One notable story about Quincy doesn’t actually involve him at all. Instead, it focuses on his daughter, Rashida, who once wrote an open letter to Tupac after he was critical of her father. Here’s what we know about the letter, and what spurred her to write it.

Rashida wrote the letter in 1993 and it was published in the hip-hop magazine The Sourceafter that magazine published comments from Tupac in which he was critical of Quincy for his relationships with white women.

Rashida, who was just 17 at the time, wrote that Tupac’s comments reflected his “ignorance and lack of respect for his people.”

“To demean a man like Quincy Jones, a man who came from the ghetto of Chicago and through his talent and perseverance became a living music legend, demeans the whole progress of African Americans,” she continued.

Her letter eventually got quite vulgar, and suggested that Tupac would not have had the career that he had if it weren’t for men like Quincy paving the way.

“Tupac, if you learn one lesson, let it be that at least my father took the time to look at how f–ked up life would be if he didn’t get his s–t together early on,” she wrote. “Where the hell would you be if Black people like him hadn’t paved the way for you to even have the opportunity to express yourself? I don’t see you fighting for your race. In my opinion, you’re destroying it and s–tting all over your people.”

In a 2024 interview with The New YorkerRashida said that the feud between them was eventually resolved after Tupac approached her older sister, Kadida, and apologized. Tupac apparently thought that Kadida was Rashida, and the two eventually struck up a romantic relationship.

“I kind of understand the nuance more now that I’m older. It just felt like a completely unwarranted attack,” she explained. “My dad doesn’t work for the government. He’s a music producer. How he chooses to live his life and who he loves is just his own business, and I’ve always felt that way.”

Rashida added that, because of his relationship with Kadida, Tupac eventually became family.

“It resolved itself really nicely, because when I met him, he immediately apologized to me, immediately apologized to my dad,” she said. “We sat down and had a really good conversation about it, and then he was family.”

“I have been self-righteous in my life, and I really have worked hard to stop looking at things in a binary way,” she added. “We’re so flawed and complicated.”