Rap beefs usually come and go. But when there’s a storied history, it’s a bit different.

Nas and N.O.R.E. recently squashed their beef this week, and it’s honestly been a long time coming. The Queens natives haven’t seen each other in eight years. When Nas decided to bring out N.O.R.E. for his performance at Club LIV in Miami, fans were excited to see the pair stand as a unit.

“That s**t felt right,” N.O.R.E. said in an interview with DoggieDiamondsTV. “You could squash beef or you could move on from something … I ain’t gonna lie to you. It was dope. I forgot how much of friends we were.”

The moment was legendary for fans of both MCs — even N.O.R.E. had to take some time to soak it all in.

“I didn’t realize how big the moment was. I didn’t try to squash or get over it as Noreaga. I did it as Papi. I did it as Victor. And I totally forgot that I am N.O.R.E. too. It was his idea. He was like, ‘Look at us smiling. People would never believe this. Let’s show the world,’” he said.

Their beef dates back to an early June 2002 interview with Nas on Power 105. During the heyday of Nas versus Jay Z, he planned on burning a life-size model of Hov on the Summer Jam stage to get back at him for debuting "Takeover" the year before. Hot 97 decided against the idea. Nas went on the rival station to go in on Jay, DJs (specifically Funkmaster Flex) and other rappers, including N.O.R.E. He famously told him to step his rap game up.

With the past behind them, N.O.R.E. says he’s using their reconciled partnership for new opportunities. “I think for me, I am a family-orientated guy. So music is always important to me,” he said. “If me and Nas never recorded another record, I rather be his friend than anything else because that’s more important to me.”

However, N.O.R.E. teased a song with Kanye West that he’s hoping Nas will jump on. Another “Calm Down” or “Body in the Trunk?” We could get behind that.

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(Photos from left: Thos Robinson/Getty Images, D Dipasupil/Getty Images)