Was Xzibit involved in a tour bus shooting? Rapper's stint with Big Pun explored

Recent reports have emerged speculating on the involvement of rapper Xzibit in a tour bus shooting incident involving the late Big Pun, whose real name was Christopher Lee Rios.

On January 2, 2025, during an interview with Bootleg Kev, the rapper was asked to recount a story about Big Pun, as the two rappers had been close friends. In response, X shared a vivid account of a wild night of bus tour shooting with Big Pun, the Terror Squad.

X recounted that during their first promotional tour in 1996 for At the Speed of Life, they were traveling in two buses through the East Coast. During a performance, someone pulled out a gun and shot in the air at the venue, and later the buses were fired upon, which X described as "crazy."

"So now we gotta run this covert operation to get everybody on the bus and get [out of there]. I mean, they shot the buses up and everything. It was crazy. There was never a dull moment [laughs]," X said.

Although Xzibit, whose real name is Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, was not directly involved in the shooting, he was present at the scene when it happened. Consequently, he was also handcuffed during the police intervention. But they were let go shortly, and upon returning to the hotel they realized that concertgoers were searching for them, leading to the alleged shooting.

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Exploring Xzibit's story about tour bus shooting during his time with Big Pun

On Thursday, January 2, 2024, Xzibit appeared on a radio podcast with Bootleg Kev at REAL 92.3, where he was asked to share a story involving the late American rapper, Big Pun.

Emphasizing their strong bond, X recounted an incident from their early days when they first started working together and went on a promotional tour following the release of his debut album.

Xzibit explained that during the tour, Big Pun’s bus broke down while he was traveling with his family. As a result, Pun and his family joined Xzibit on his bus.

"Their bus breaks down and Pun has his family with him so he’s like, ‘Let me get on the bus.’ So they’re all on my bus. I knew that night was gonna be crazy but I didn’t know at the beginning of the day how crazy it was gonna get," X said.

Xzibit further detailed how Pun’s family, feeling cramped on the bus, called for a car. The person who arrived with the car was driving a limousine and had a confrontational attitude, which heightened the tension.

"He was like, ‘All you muthaf**kas can’t get in my car!’ The whole Terror Squad’s with [Pun]. I see the dude throw his hands up and I’m like, ‘Oh, this not gonna end good!’ And all the Terror Squad n***as come and start chasing this n***a round the car. It’s like the best s**t ever [laughs]," X added.

After sharing the story preceding the shooting, X recounted the incident that involved gunfire. He explained that later that day during a performance, Boobie the Boxer from the Terror Squad was on stage with Big Pun.

During the show, someone from the audience threw an object at the artists, sparking a physical altercation. Amid the ensuing chaos, a member of the team retrieved a gun and fired it into the air.

"And somebody from the team pulls out a gun and fires it right into the air. Bow! This n-gga pulled it out of a briefcase in the middle of the stage!" X shared.

As the situation escalated, Xzibit and his co-manager attempted to return to their tour buses but found police already on the scene. The alleged shooter tried to dispose of the gun in a dumpster, but the lack of trash made it obvious to the police, resulting in everyone, including Xzibit, being handcuffed.

"[The shooter] throws the muthaf**king [gun] in the dumpster but there’s no trash in the dumpster so [you hear clanking]. The [cops] walk right up to it and shine the flashlight on it like, ‘Who threw it?’ So everybody’s in cuffs," X recalled.

In the end, X and his team were released and made their way back to their hotel. That was when they realized that the people from the concert were looking for the Terror Squad. Leading to the artists trying to get away from the situation by leaving in their tour buses and allegedly getting involved in aforementioned tour bus shooting.

Reflecting on Big Pun's passing on February 7, 2000, due to a heart attack, Xzibit shared that he got a tattoo of Pun within a week of his death. In a 2015 Facebook post, he expressed his deep sense of loss, emphasizing the profound bond they shared.