Mariah Carey Reveals She Wishes She Dated 2pac: “Pretty major moment for me”
Mariah Carey recently opened up about a moment with Tupac Shakur that still sticks with her decades later, and admitted that, looking back, she wishes they had dated.
In a new interview on Brown Bag Mornings via Power 106, the pop and R&B icon reflected on her first encounter with 2Pac, calling it a major moment that left her feeling more than a little starstruck.
The conversation came just ahead of her receiving the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards’ prestigious Video Vanguard honor.
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Carey shared that the interaction happened at an awards show, and it was brief, but powerful.
“Well, he said it like ‘Hi, Mariah’ and I was like [screams].”
She recalled the moment in detail, explaining that she was hosting the American Music Awards that year and had to move between segments — but found herself looking forward to crossing paths with 2Pac again.
“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.”
Mariah also mentioned seeing 2Pac roll up in a Rolls-Royce, a story she previously included in her 2020 memoir.
In the interview, she also expressed regret that the two never collaborated musically, revealing she would have loved to do a song with the late rap legend. She touched on her love for the genre, saying:
“It was definitely in spite of anyone telling me not to. 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 the hosts brought up the idea that she and 2Pac would have made a powerful celebrity couple, Carey didn’t hesitate.
“I wish,” she said.
Mariah Carey Opens Up About Her Crush on Tupac:
Mariah Carey says she wishes she had dated Tupac, recalling how he gave her butterflies by saying her name.
(🎥: @Power106LA)
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) August 27, 2025
Though they never had the chance to connect romantically, Mariah did pay tribute to 2Pac’s influence in her 1999 track “How Much,” which sampled his classic “Me and My Girlfriend.”
