Many rappers and record executives are blaming those outside the industry for translating perceived insults between rap factions into real-life retaliation. The Notorious B.I.G. - killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday - never believed a rivalry really existed between himself and Tupac Shakur, his business partner, Un Rivera, said Monday. Shakur, slain in September, was a former friend who went so far as to graphically insult B.I.G. (given name, Christopher Wallace) on an album. "From my perspective, it was all a way for Tupac to sell his album," Rivera says. Russell Simmons, a veteran rap record executive, says the unsolved nature of both killings is "the scariest thing in the world. That says a lot about the community and how unprotected we are when you realize that these are very famous people. If they can't find out who killed them, how are you going to find out who killed someone in the street?"

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