Late rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was filming his first movie, “Juice,” when he read a story in the Daily News about a 12-year-old Brooklyn girl who’d been raped by her cousin, hid the pregnancy from her family and then tried to dispose of the newborn.
That 1991 story, headlined “Cries in the Night,” went on to inspire the breakthrough single off Tupac’s debut album, according to Jeff Pearlman, author of the new biography “Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur.”
“She didn’t tell anyone — delivers the baby on the floor, wraps the baby in a plastic bag and throws the baby down the trash shoot. It’s the day the incinerator is supposed to go off,” Pearlman told host Allison Kugel on her “Allison Interviews” podcast.
“A guy down there working in the basement of the building hears crying, goes over and sees a little baby in a plastic bag, and the baby winds up in custody,” Pearlman said. “Tupac reads the article, goes into his trailer and writes the lyrics for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ He was moved by that singular story to write that.”
While working on the biography, Pearlman said he kept returning to the origins of the song, as few people were ever made aware of the real “story behind the story.”
“What continued to gnaw at me,” he writes in the book, “was the fate of the baby — and of Brenda. Over the three decades that have passed, the identity of neither child nor mother had ever been revealed.”
So Pearlman hired a high school friend-turned-genealogist to track the pair down — and find them she did.
The baby, who’d been given up for adoption, is now a man in his 30s named Davonn Hodge who lives in Las Vegas. “Brenda,” whose real name is Jeanette, lives in New Jersey and spent decades searching for her son but with no success.
The discovery led the mother and son to reunite for the first time in 32 years. They met up in Vegas, less than a mile from where Tupac was murdered in 1996.
Pearlman shares the full details of the story in his 406-page book, and there’s plenty more to uncover. Featuring nearly 700 original interviews and never-before-shared details, it paints perhaps the most comprehensive portrait of the hip-hop icon’s life and death.
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The freeze-out of estranged best friends Taylor Swift and Blake Lively appears to be thawing, with a source saying the two have secretly seen each other in the past few months.
Swift was upset when earlier this year she got dragged into the legal battle between Lively and Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director of “It Ends With Us.”
Insiders have said the popstar wasn’t too pleased when a countersuit filed by Baldoni accused Lively of leveraging Swift’s fame to gain an upper hand during disputes over the film.
Nor was Swift thrilled to be briefly subpoenaed in the case, in part due to Lively allegedly manipulating her into being present for a meeting about the script.
Despite months of speculation that the yearslong friendship is beyond repair, my source said, “There is genuine love there. Besides, Taylor is the godmother to Blake’s daughters — something that Taylor takes seriously.”
Swift is gearing up to marry Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, and fans couldn’t help but notice Lively’s silence when they announced their engagement.
Still, “expect to see Blake and her husband at the wedding,” the source said.
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Bo Dietl — former NYPD detective, private eye and one-time NYC mayoral candidate — is learning to keep a secret.
Dietl quietly got married in August to Margo Urban, the original lead singer of the iconic ‘80s dance group The Cover Girls.
The two were first introduced a couple decades ago.
“I met this beautiful girl. I had something for her from the beginning,” Dietl said.
Both went on to marry other people, but both eventually got divorced.
Dietl proposed with a big diamond ring, but planning for the wedding became so stressful that they opted to exchange vows at their Hamptons home in front of just 20 people.
“Life is so short. Let’s just enjoy,” Dietl said. “It’s a beautiful love story.”
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The Knicks season opening victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden brought out some famous fans — such as Mayor Eric Adams sitting courtside with wannabe Andrew Cuomo.
Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan and Fat Joe come to so many games that they’re front row fixtures.
But Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, sitting next to former Knick Carmelo Anthony, drew applause from the crowd, as did Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Bacon, Ed Sheeran and Chris Rock.
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Priyanka Chopra and her husband, Nick Jonas, hosted an intimate Diwali party for family and friends at their New York City apartment with their 3-year-old daughter, Malti Marie.
The couple lit traditional oil lamps on the table to symbolize the victory of good over evil.
The Hindu festival of lights, India’s biggest public holiday, is built around food, family and prayers for prosperity. It typically features a sensory overload of sweets, fireworks and flower garlands.
Chopra and her daughter decorated the table with hand-painted cardboard flowers to mark the occasion.
Also celebrating the holiday was restaurateur Nandita Khanna at her beloved Times Square restaurant Utsav, the only spot in Manhattan offering authentic Bengali cuisine.
The restaurant served over 200 festive dinners in a room aglow with hundreds of lights.
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“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Meredith Marks and her husband, Seth, dined alongside “RHONY” alum Ramona Singer at the new Italian restaurant Park Rose in the reimagined Hotel Park Ave NYC.
The Bravo stars were there to celebrate the launch of designer Frederick Anderson’s Empirical X Frederick Gin and the chic eatery’s opening.
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Some big names are worried about The Center at West Park, a community arts center and theater once housed inside a converted church on 86th and Amsterdam.
On Monday night, a staged reading of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Hold on to Me Darling” will star Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, J. Smith Cameron, Gretchen Mol and Lucas Hedges.
The reading will serve as a benefit to save the West Park Presbyterian Church from demolition, as well as The Center from permanently losing its home.
Lonergan has championed the cause at other events designed to preserve the landmarked space.
“This is an important thing,” he said. “We’ve all seen our favorite buildings and landmarks torn down for economic reasons. … This [church] was built in 1885 and it’s been an arts center for many years.”
The owners of the building say the church is too costly for its much-needed renovations and repairs, arguing it’s past the point of being saved.
Not surprisingly, developers have swooped in and offered $33 million to buy the property, knock it down and build a high-rise in its place.
The Center, which has since been evicted, is currently in the midst of a campaign to raise enough funds to pick up the tab for the renovations and increased rent.
Tickets for Monday’s staged reading — held at nearby St. Paul & St. Andrew, where The Center has taken up temporary residence — can be purchased starting at $300 at CenteratWestPark.org. Pay-what-you-can tickets are also available for students and community members with financial need.
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Elsewhere in Manhattan on Monday, Amy Green, the founder of The Green Vision Foundation, will be honored with an award for environmental leadership at the annual Angel Ball benefitting Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.
“I believe everything is connected: the earth, the ocean and the energy we share,” Green said. “The Angel Ball embodies that circle of purpose and compassion.”
The award will be presented by Jackie Siegel, the model and socialite best known for starring in the documentary “The Queen of Versailles.” The film recently got the theater treatment with a Kristin Chenoweth-led musical that’s currently in previews on Broadway.
The Angel Ball is also set to honor Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles — herself a breast cancer survivor — for her tireless commitment to philanthropy, the arts and raising awareness for cancer research.
The star-studded gala, held at Cipriani Wall Street and hosted by Gayle King, will feature performances by Ja Rule, Patti LaBelle, Paul Russell and Montego Glover.
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Musicians A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Doja Cat and Drake have all rocked the room at events hosted by NYC Party Guide founders Yuval Eder and Tal Goldfus.
This year for Halloween, the nightlife kings will throw back-to-back parties on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1, at two different venues.
“These exclusive parties will bring together top models, trendsetters, tastemakers and nightlife insiders for two nights of seduction, rhythm and nocturnal elegance,” they said.
Attendees can indulge in cocktails and dance beneath a spooky glow as guest DJs create an electrifying vibe that lasts well into the wee hours of the morning.
Parties are taking place at Two Fifteen, the exclusive lounge tucked inside the PUBLIC Hotel on the Lower East Side, and at the French restaurant Maison Nur in Nolita. Tickets are available at NYCPartyGuide.com.
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Kool & the Gang just released its Greatest Hits Collection, the R&B-funk group’s first new vinyl release in decades.
The album features a “Kool Dozen” of funky gems such as “Jungle Boogie,” “Ladies’ Night,” “Celebration,” and “Get Down on It.”
The group will perform on Nov. 2 during halftime of the Raiders game in Las Vegas, and be featured two nights later on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I turned 75,” Robert “Kool” Bell told me. “Trying to keep the funk alive.”
