On Friday (December 6), Eminem rehashed an old beef with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. Appearing on Fat Joe & Dre’s “Lord Above,” Marshall Mathers responded to some comments that Cannon made this fall about the late 2000s. The media impresario said that he sought Em, with plans to do him physical harm after an onslaught of disses surrounding Mariah. At the time, Cannon was married to Carey, who previously had an early 2000s romantic relationship with Em. That tryst ended with both superstars dissing one another in the public spotlight. Em used several bars to address Cannon on the new song which also features Mary J. Blige. “I know me and Mariah didn’t end on a high note / But that other dude’s whipped, that p*ssy got him neutered / Tried to tell him this chick’s a nutjob ‘fore he got his jewels clipped / Almost got my caboose kicked? Fool, quit / You not gon’ do sh*t I let her chop my balls off, too ‘fore I lost to you, Nick.” Eminem Raps A Response To Nick Cannon Claiming He Tried To Beat Him Up Over Mariah On Friday, Cannon said he did not plan a response. However, Today (December 9) he unleashed “The Invitation.” Cannon tapped a cast of guests for the diss, including Charlie Clips, Hitman Holla, Prince Eazy, and…Suge Knight. In his verse at the top of the song, Cannon addresses his relationship with Fat Joe. Then, he takes shots at Em’s family and his sobriety. “Ain’t no comin’ back, that’s a fact, this the invitation / Told Joe to lean back, don’t get hit with this retaliation / I f*ck with Crack, but the white boy, he f*ck with crack / Pills and smack, sh*t, and he ’bout to relapse / Call Kim, somebody get Hailie / And that other kid you raisin’, that ain’t even your baby / Took a page out of Drake book, this might get a Grammy / We goin’ back to back ’til you respond on the family / My baby mama killed you off a decade ago / You’re still cryin’ about it, b*tch, now who really the h*e?” Eminem has historically been highly reactive to issues surrounding his family. Eminem Fires A Killshot Diss At MGK & Diddy Gets Caught In The Crossfire (Audio) St. Louis’ Hitman Holla, Chicago’s Prince Eazy, and Harlem’s Charlie Clips pile on bars. They all use punchlines to attack Eminem. However, it’s recorded calls from Suge Knight that may stand out most. The former Death Row Records executive who clowned peers for getting involved in the music offered a take while serving a 28-year prison sentence for murder. “You know, I don’t never do no talkin’, but Nick is family,” Knight says at the top of the song. “Nick Cannon is a force in it-itself, and if you have proper time for conversation, y’all got the same energy for doin’ stuff for the people. He not scared to do stuff for the people. So if this dude want a real target on his back, that’s on him. But don’t talk no sh*t and don’t fight. And you know what you call a man who ain’t gon’ stand up and fight? He’s a b*tch. We should tell the motherf*ckers in Detroit he got 24 hours to respond, or they need kick his ass out that mothaf*ckin’ city,” warns Knight in the middle of a lengthy harangue. DJ Quik Says Suge Knight Had Diddy’s Child’s Mother In His Room After The Source Awards In the 1990s and early 2000s, Knight’s roster regularly dissed Eminem, who had become Dr. Dre’s star protege, in addition to former Death Row acts. One of Eminem’s former bodyguards, Big Naz, has detailed accounts of several confrontations, including the 1999 Source Awards, where Death Row tried to intimidate Eminem.
Social media has been rallying for Rodney Reed who was sentenced to 21 years on death row for a murder that someone else confessed to. Kim Kardashian was one of the many people advocating for Georgia to reopen this man’s case who she believes is innocent.
The reality star wasn’t only campaigning online, but she went to meet Reed face-to-face. Ironically she was with him when he learned his execution was suspended indefinitely.
“Today, I had the honor of meeting #RodneyReed in person and the privilege of sitting with him when he got the news that the highest court in Texas had issued a stay of execution and remanded the case back to the trial court for further consideration,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Words cannot describe the relief and hope that swept over the room in that moment,” she continued. “That hope had been building over the last few weeks around Rodney’s case. We have seen Democrats and Republicans come together. We have seen grassroots activists and lawmakers link arms.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas decided to pull the plug on the execution because there has been new evidence in the case, including witnesses who came forward in recent months.
Today, I had the honor of meeting #RodneyReed in person and the privilege of sitting with him when he got the news that the highest court in Texas had issued a stay of execution and remanded the case back to the trial court for further consideration.
Words cannot describe the relief and hope that swept over the room in that moment. That hope had been building over the last few weeks around Rodney’s case. We have seen Democrats and Republicans come together. We have seen grassroots activists and lawmakers link arms.
We have heard people all around the globe speak up. And all because of a deep belief that every man or woman accused of a crime – especially one punishable by death – deserves the chance to have all available evidence considered.
So grateful for the commitment and passion of everyone who voiced their support, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for their recommendation to issue a 120 day reprieve, and the courts for issuing a stay!
On Monday it was reported that Suge Knight signed over his life rights to Ray J in hopes to generate revenue, but he quickly slammed those rumors.
The former Death Row Records CEO clarified his partnership with the Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood star in a phone interview with The Blast. Suge gave Ray J rights to hold down Death Row Records and control the music that is released via the label. Knight made it clear that he respects Ray and looks at him as a “little brother.” But the person who has power over his life rights is his wife, Toi-Lin Kelly who is in charge of movies, television, and documentaries.
Suge Knight announced that Nick Cannon has been appointed to write and publish a book about the notorious music figure’s life. He referred to Cannon as “the most realest guy in the business today.”
It’s going to be interesting to see what Ray J and Nick will make out of Suge’s famous brands.
It was a monumental year when Dr. Dre released The Chronic on his Death Row Records imprint in 1992. The multi-platinum album was a street sensation that marked a new era of Rap. It delivered G-Funk to the mainstream, with videos that displayed the laid back vibes, set against menacing lyricism, and cautionary tales of life in Compton, Long Beach, and South Central Los Angeles. Like Marley Marl with his “Symphony,” Dre’s solo debut introduced an ensemble of stars on the mic, behind the boards, and helping supply the smoked-out party. Snoop Doggy Dogg, RBX, Warren G, and Kurupt were some those names. But most notably, The Chronic also showcased a fierce female MC who matched the grit and toughness of her Compton and Long Beach counterparts, although she was raised in Farmville, Virginia.
The track “Lyrical Gangbang” wouldn’t be as hard-hitting if The Lady Of Rage didn’t set the stage with her memorable, hardcore delivery of the lines: “Now I’ma kick up dust, as I begin to bust, On the wick-wack, f*cked up suckers you can’t trust.”
The former Chubb Rock protege known as “Rockin’ Robin” showed up again on The Chronic rapping from the spot of cellblock H on “Stranded On Death Row.” Cellblock H, as she would explain to XXL, is a reference to a women’s prison cell. She explained to the magazine as apart of their 20th-anniversary piece on The Chronic: “I ended my verse with ‘cellblock H’ ’cause I remember running across a television show called Prisoner: Cellblock H, and I think it was about a women’s prison. Me being the female in the crew, I just referenced a female’s prison, cellblock H.”
Snoop Doggy Dogg got his solo album shot less than a year after The Chronic with Doggystyle. Rage is actually the first rapper to set off Snoop’s debut with “G Funk (Intro).” It was there that she rapped the lyrics, “I rock ruff and stuff with my afro puffs / Handcuffed as I bust, ’bout to tear sh*t up.” Just a few months later, in 1994, for the Above The Rimsoundtrack, the woman born Robin Allen reiterated those lines as a hook for the first solo Death Row Records single, “Afro Puffs.”
Her solo single was supported by Snoop Dogg making an appearance for some background vocals and a music video cameo. Through G-Funk synths and a heavy bassline, Rage set the track off rugged: “I rock on with my bad self ’cause it’s a must / It’s the Lady Of Rage still kickin’ up dust / So umm, let me loosen up my bra strap / And umm, let me boost ya with my raw rap / ‘Cause I’ma break it down to the nitty-gritty one time / When it comes to the lyrics, I gets busy with mine / Busy as a beaver / Ya best believe-a / This grand diva’s runnin’ sh*t with the speed of a cheetah / Meet a / Lyrical murderer… I’m servin’ ’em like two scoops of chocolate / Check out how I rock it.”
Featuring some of Dr. Dre’s hardest production of the period, the track hit #5 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs and served as the second single for the Above The Rimsoundtrack, following Warren G & Nate Dogg’s “Regulate.” The album, however, peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1994.
Despite the success of the track, The Lady Of Rage has expressed her initial distaste for “Afro Puffs.” In an interview with Billboard’s Erika Ramirez from 2014, Rage revealed how it almost never happened –– or, at least, it wasn’t supposed to:
“That song almost didn’t happen,” she said. “I just so happened to go to the studio that day, and Dre was playing this beat. He was like, ‘You got something for that Rage? Let me hear it.’ I spit a rhyme that I had written a few days prior. I didn’t like [the song], but Dre was like, ‘Damn, Rage, will you just shut the f*ck up? It’s not even done yet.’ I still didn’t like it, but everybody else did. I asked Suge [Knight] to not put the song on the soundtrack, and he was like, ‘Alright Rage, we won’t do it.’”
The MC continues, “I was riding in the car with Suge’s wife [Sharitha Knight], and I told her, ‘I’m so glad they got rid of that song.’ And she said, ‘Girl, they didn’t take that song off the soundtrack.’ I had a fit! I said, ‘They’re going to ruin my career. That song cannot be the one.’ My style was more East Coast. I’m from Virginia and ‘Afro Puffs’ was this G-Funk sound. [Interscope Records Chairman at the time] Jimmy Iovine called me and told me to calm down because the song is such a hit. That became my claim to fame.”
“Afro Puffs” might’ve been a huge enough single to warrant Rage’s solo debut. However, despite the song’s success, Rage waited while Tha Dogg Pound dropped their Dogg Food debut in 1995. By the end of that year, the label’s priorities had shifted entirely with the arrival of Tupac Shakur. By March of 1996, Dr. Dre, who had worked so closely with Rage, left the label he co-founded. Her first and only studio album, Necessary Roughness, released in June of 1997. The record was released via Death Row and Interscope and featured production by DJ Premier, Daz Dillinger, Easy Mo Bee, DJ Kenny Parker, and Rage herself.
Not long after her album, Rage left Death Row. In 2005, she spoke to Jake Paine (now with Ambrosia For Heads) for AllHipHop about her frustrations. “I went up there one day to pick something up. I’d been going up there all the time. Suge was locked up at the time; things were run differently. When I got to the lobby, the guy there told me I needed an appointment to go upstairs. I was like, ‘I need an appointment? For what?’ All I got was, ‘Things are different now.’ I was insulted by that. I’m one of the artists—one of the reasons this office is here, I feel. I didn’t sell millions of records, but I was on those things. This is mines, like Dre’s, Snoop’s, Suge’s, whatever. I said, ‘Can you go get the package for me?’ When he went upstairs, I picked up something and I broke some things up, and really give them a reason for not lettin’ me in here. I never went back again until I couple of months ago. I was just mad. I was pregnant, I was mad, that was slap in the face.”
Rage’s persona, on the mic and real-life, earned her a role in Next Friday. At a time when her music career was limited, the MC made a convincing bully as “Baby D.” However, Rage has never beat down anything as badly as that amazing Dre production on “Afro Puffs.”
It was a monumental year when Dr. Dre released The Chronic on his Death Row Records imprint in 1992. The multi-platinum album was a street sensation that marked a new era of Rap. It delivered G-Funk to the mainstream, with videos that displayed the laid back vibes, set against menacing lyricism, and cautionary tales of life in Compton, Long Beach, and South Central Los Angeles. Like Marley Marl with his “Symphony,” Dre’s solo debut introduced an ensemble of stars on the mic, behind the boards, and helping supply the smoked-out party. Snoop Doggy Dogg, RBX, Warren G, and Kurupt were some those names. But most notably, The Chronic also showcased a fierce female MC who matched the grit and toughness of her Compton and Long Beach counterparts, although she was raised in Farmville, Virginia.
The track “Lyrical Gangbang” wouldn’t be as hard-hitting if The Lady Of Rage didn’t set the stage with her memorable, hardcore delivery of the lines: “Now I’ma kick up dust, as I begin to bust, On the wick-wack, f*cked up suckers you can’t trust.”
The former Chubb Rock protege known as “Rockin’ Robin” showed up again on The Chronic rapping from the spot of cellblock H on “Stranded On Death Row.” Cellblock H, as she would explain to XXL, is a reference to a women’s prison cell. She explained to the magazine as apart of their 20th-anniversary piece on The Chronic: “I ended my verse with ‘cellblock H’ ’cause I remember running across a television show called Prisoner: Cellblock H, and I think it was about a women’s prison. Me being the female in the crew, I just referenced a female’s prison, cellblock H.”
Snoop Doggy Dogg got his solo album shot less than a year after The Chronic with Doggystyle. Rage is actually the first rapper to set off Snoop’s debut with “G Funk (Intro).” It was there that she rapped the lyrics, “I rock ruff and stuff with my afro puffs / Handcuffed as I bust, ’bout to tear sh*t up.” Just a few months later, in 1994, for the Above The Rimsoundtrack, the woman born Robin Allen reiterated those lines as a hook for the first solo Death Row Records single, “Afro Puffs.”
Her solo single was supported by Snoop Dogg making an appearance for some background vocals and a music video cameo. Through G-Funk synths and a heavy bassline, Rage set the track off rugged: “I rock on with my bad self ’cause it’s a must / It’s the Lady Of Rage still kickin’ up dust / So umm, let me loosen up my bra strap / And umm, let me boost ya with my raw rap / ‘Cause I’ma break it down to the nitty-gritty one time / When it comes to the lyrics, I gets busy with mine / Busy as a beaver / Ya best believe-a / This grand diva’s runnin’ sh*t with the speed of a cheetah / Meet a / Lyrical murderer… I’m servin’ ’em like two scoops of chocolate / Check out how I rock it.”
Featuring some of Dr. Dre’s hardest production of the period, the track hit #5 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs and served as the second single for the Above The Rimsoundtrack, following Warren G & Nate Dogg’s “Regulate.” The album, however, peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1994.
Despite the success of the track, The Lady Of Rage has expressed her initial distaste for “Afro Puffs.” In an interview with Billboard’s Erika Ramirez from 2014, Rage revealed how it almost never happened –– or, at least, it wasn’t supposed to:
“That song almost didn’t happen,” she said. “I just so happened to go to the studio that day, and Dre was playing this beat. He was like, ‘You got something for that Rage? Let me hear it.’ I spit a rhyme that I had written a few days prior. I didn’t like [the song], but Dre was like, ‘Damn, Rage, will you just shut the f*ck up? It’s not even done yet.’ I still didn’t like it, but everybody else did. I asked Suge [Knight] to not put the song on the soundtrack, and he was like, ‘Alright Rage, we won’t do it.’”
The MC continues, “I was riding in the car with Suge’s wife [Sharitha Knight], and I told her, ‘I’m so glad they got rid of that song.’ And she said, ‘Girl, they didn’t take that song off the soundtrack.’ I had a fit! I said, ‘They’re going to ruin my career. That song cannot be the one.’ My style was more East Coast. I’m from Virginia and ‘Afro Puffs’ was this G-Funk sound. [Interscope Records Chairman at the time] Jimmy Iovine called me and told me to calm down because the song is such a hit. That became my claim to fame.”
“Afro Puffs” might’ve been a huge enough single to warrant Rage’s solo debut. However, despite the song’s success, Rage waited while Tha Dogg Pound dropped their Dogg Food debut in 1995. By the end of that year, the label’s priorities had shifted entirely with the arrival of Tupac Shakur. By March of 1996, Dr. Dre, who had worked so closely with Rage, left the label he co-founded. Her first and only studio album, Necessary Roughness, released in June of 1997. The record was released via Death Row and Interscope and featured production by DJ Premier, Daz Dillinger, Easy Mo Bee, DJ Kenny Parker, and Rage herself.
Not long after her album, Rage left Death Row. In 2005, she spoke to Jake Paine (now with Ambrosia For Heads) for AllHipHop about her frustrations. “I went up there one day to pick something up. I’d been going up there all the time. Suge was locked up at the time; things were run differently. When I got to the lobby, the guy there told me I needed an appointment to go upstairs. I was like, ‘I need an appointment? For what?’ All I got was, ‘Things are different now.’ I was insulted by that. I’m one of the artists—one of the reasons this office is here, I feel. I didn’t sell millions of records, but I was on those things. This is mines, like Dre’s, Snoop’s, Suge’s, whatever. I said, ‘Can you go get the package for me?’ When he went upstairs, I picked up something and I broke some things up, and really give them a reason for not lettin’ me in here. I never went back again until I couple of months ago. I was just mad. I was pregnant, I was mad, that was slap in the face.”
Rage’s persona, on the mic and real-life, earned her a role in Next Friday. At a time when her music career was limited, the MC made a convincing bully as “Baby D.” However, Rage has never beat down anything as badly as that amazing Dre production on “Afro Puffs.”
Today (March 15), Drink Champs released its episode with Xzibit. Notably, another Southern California-based lyricist also guested on the show. Kxng Crooked (akaCrooked I) joined N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s round-table alongside Mr. X-To-The-Z. In a two-hour discussion, the show played host to some of Crook’s most revealing thoughts surrounding the 2018 disbanding of Slaughterhouse.
Just under one year ago, the Long Beach, California MCmade an announcement that shocked some fans. “I’ve been sober for two years. Let me tell you a secret: sober Crook likes to rap. [Slaughterhouse] ain’t rapping [together] no more and that’s fine. It was fun while it lasted,” Crooked I told fans in a video published last April. He also addressed the group’s third album, which had been in the works for years. “Glass House, I have no clue. All I can tell you [is] it exists. If it comes out, I’ll retweet it. Other than that, it’s all love. Everybody who supported me in Slaughterhouse, thank you.”
Kxng Crooked joins the Xzibit conversation at the 1:03:00 mark. At 1:11:00, Crooked I is asked about Joe Budden’s impact on the group disbanding. The guest begins addressing Budden’s late 2017 remarks that eventually led to a high-profile beef with Eminem. “I just felt like [Joe Budden’s] approach was wrong. If you don’t like something, ‘It’s not for me,’ [or] ‘Yo, I don’t like it,’ [or], [Eminem’s] the homie, [but] this ain’t for me.’ But when you say something is ‘trash,’ you sh*t on Paul Rosenberg’s rollout, you’re taking it a little further.”
The guest continues, “And then I know the backstory; I know that there were some issues that [Joe Budden] felt against the label. You’re not giving [Eminem] a fair critique now, ’cause now you’ve got malice behind what you’re saying; it’s personal. My whole thing was like, just keep it a buck.”
Last year began with Eminem making a “Chloraseptic (Remix)” including new lyrics that many—including D12’s Bizarre—believed were in response to Joe Budden’s words. By last August’s sneak-attack album, Kamikaze, Eminem left nothing to suspicion. Less than a week after the release, Em showcased the “Fall” video, containing the bars, “Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it or have his body bag get zipped / The closest thing he’s had to hits is smackin’ b*tches.”
In response to the album, Joe Budden released a fiery episode of his podcast. In addition to unpacking a history of tensions between he and Marshall surrounding the marketing, assistance, and creative input of Slaughterhouse, the retired MC alleged that he’d been a better rapper and than Eminem for the last decade. The host yelled his points throughout the episode, stating that he’d be willing to respond to Em’ in a song, if his opponent gave him something worth responding to.
Back on the new Drink Champs, Kxng Crooked points to that September podcast as evidence that these feelings had been seeded for some time. “Eventually, it came out with, ‘I felt like I was better than Em’ for [the last] 10 years,’ [and more].” Crooked asserts that Joe’s anger towards Em’ and label head Paul Rosenberg was not used in context for his scathing Revival criticism.
At 1:14:00, N.O.R.E. says that he possibly questions the merits of Budden’s argument regarding Rap superiority over the last decade. In response, Crooked I says, “Every MC is supposed to feel like they’re the best, so I’ll give [him] that. Now that you’ve said that, I think you’ve got to back it up with more than just a statement. ‘Cause Em’ came at you, where you at, Joe? You said that you was better than him for the past 10 years. He gave you a few bars. You gotta back it up now; you just said this. If you don’t back it up, I don’t think even you believe [it is true].” Xzibit, who has worked extensively with Eminem adds, “You can’t just say [you are not responding because of] retirement. All bets are off.”
Crooked I continues, questioning Joe Budden’s appreciation and loyalty to Eminem and Shady. “I feel like Joe forgot [about the helping hand] when he was saying what he was saying. I don’t forget solid sh*t; that’s just not how I’m cut.” He suggests that earlier, Budden needed help that Eminem and Shady provided. To further illustrate, Crook’ recalls an early 2000s meeting with Suge Knight and N.O.R.E. in a Manhattan recording studio. He says that he forever remembers Noreaga’s help in a time when the Death Row co-founder and star artist wanted to make sure they were safe on the East Coast. “I never forget solid sh*t. So I would think as long as Em’ and Paul didn’t cross him in some type of way, I would think [Joe Budden] would have enough respect to be like, ‘Yo, I ain’t gon’ step on the gas on this one.’”
At 1:18:00, Kxng Crooked reveals how Joe’s 2017 words ultimately botched plans for Glass House. “It definitely affected Slaughterhouse. Because me and Royce [5’9] was working behind the scenes, trying to get the [Glass House] album out to the people. [The ‘Untouchable] critique] was like a grenade; he took the pin out and tossed that b*tch,” says the guest with a chuckle.
Addressing Joe’s podcast points from last September, Kxng Crooked also defends Eminem’s input. Budden was critical of Eminem not giving the group the proper push, compared to 50 Cent, D12, and earlier Shady successes. “I believe we came in at a time on Shady where Em’ didn’t have to do so much sh*t. He was used to having one formula to make things rock. But that formula was changing with the times,” explains Crook. Last year, Joe was also critical of Eminem’s production, beat choices, and creative input on a group that had released one album before signing with Shady. In an interview with Sway Calloway produced by Shady, Eminem responded to those charges.
Crooked I seemingly agrees with Marshall. “So what Em’ did, he said, ‘Okay, that first round [with welcome to: OUR HOUSE], that’s on me. Y’all go back in and make another album, and I’ma just let y’all rock. Whatever y’all wanna do, handle it the way y’all want to handle it. Roll it out how you want to roll it out, just do you.’ We all agreed and went back into the lab.” It is here that the C.O.B. founder says he is most frustrated. “That’s my problem [with what happened]: if you agree to go back and record another album and give it another shot, why is we still talking about [welcome to: OUR HOUSE]?” Kxng Crooked seemingly suggests that Budden remained displeased with the group album, instead of seizing the opportunity surrounding a follow-up album. Moreover, the California veteran says he relocated to New York City for six weeks to work on that unreleased LP. “Then the team broke up.”
N.O.R.E. asks if the guest considered the group of four solo MCs “a brotherhood.” Kxng Crooked responds, “I thought it was. Then, at times, I say, ‘I don’t think it was.’” Moments later he says, “I’m just cut different; I got three Slaughterhouse tattoos. When it was goin’ down, if anybody was in trouble, I was there with ’em. It was just a different scenario.” N.O.R.E. and Crooked I bring up Joe Budden’s late 2000s beef with Wu-Tang Clan. Kxng Crooked admits that fallout from that short-lived beef involving a physical 2009 altercation with Raekwon, cost him relationships with his circle.
At 85:30, N.O.R.E. says that after witnessing the 2018 breakup of Slaughterhouse he has faith for a reunion. Royce, Crooked, and Joell worked together on the remix to “Timberlan’d Up” late last year. “I don’t think it’s over,” says the Capone-N-Noreaga co-founder. Quickly, Crook’ puts those notions to bed. “It’s a wrap on that one.”
At 1:03:00 Rory enters and joins. N.O.R.E. asks the new guest if there will be a Slaughterhouse again. “This is an ambush; I want to get this on record,” responds The Joe Budden Podcast co-host who previously worked at Def Jam and Sony Records. “I saw Crook’ outside; Crook’ is love all day. This is a total ambush; I just want to make that clear…Slaughterhouse is none of my business. Why would y’all ask me about Slaughterhouse?” He charges that Crooked I and Joe Budden’s relationship is an isolated situation. “I can’t objectively talk about Slaughterhouse. One of their members is family to me. That’s their business.”
Ten minutes later, at 1:13:00, Kxng Crooked brings up that the loyal fans will always ask about the group that nearly lasted a decade. “People want to know, that’s how strong the Slaughterhouse brand was.” “Not was, is,” corrects Rory. Moments later, the MC born Dominick Wickliffe reflects on his group. “I don’t know why it’s gone; I know the Em’ sh*t played a big part in it…” In the next breath, Crook’ affirms his loyalty to Eminem, who he worked with nearly a decade before Slaughterhouse.
At 1:55:00 N.O.R.E. asks Rory if he thinks Joe went too far with his Eminem criticism. “I think a lot of the things that Joe [was quoted as saying] were made up, if you go back and look at what he [actually] said on Everyday Struggle. I think it got blown out of proportion. I think a lot of sh*t went to [headlines].” He adds, “Just knowing Joe personally, and how much he loves Em’, and respects him, sh*t got blown outta proportion, dog.”
As Rory speaks, Xzibit shoots Crooked I a look. The LBC native interrupts, “He used the word ‘trash,’ and I think that was—” Rory interrupts, asking about the context of the word. Kxng Crooked states that it was in reference to “Untouchable.” “[Joe Budden] said, ‘It’s trash, throw it in the rice,’ or some sh*t. You know what Joe be sayin’. But yeah, I mean, that’s going too far.”
In response Rory aligns with his podcast co-host’s opinion. “I don’t think he was buggin’” Kxng Crooked interjects, “Well, I think he was. I know you don’t want to have that conversation, yeah, but my whole thing is, like I was sayin’, dog, if you got a lil’ issue with somebody, pass on the critique of their album and their singles. Because, how can you be fair? How can you come from a place where you’re just listening to it [while] setting your personal feelings to the side? I don’t think so.”
Crooked I continues, “See, me and Royce, we were very hands-on with Slaughterhouse. From the beginning to end…we really went in the trenches for Slaughterhouse. You get me? So when you go in the trenches like that, if you got a communication line with your brothers, then you talk to your brothers. ‘Yo, this is what I’m about to do. Is this gonna harm anything that you guys are doing to try and get Glass House out right now? ‘Cause I don’t like my time to be wasted. If I’m flying from Cali’ to New York, sittin’ in them offices, fighting for this Glass House sh*t, on my own time, let me know if you’re gonna throw a grenade at [somebody]. Just let me know, and I won’t get on that plane. You feel me?”
As Kxng Crooked finishes his sentence, Rory gets up and exits the room without a goodbye. With a belly-laugh, Kxng Crooked claims, “It got awkward.” Seconds later, the episode ends.
Earlier in the Drink Champs episode, Crooked I makes a powerful point about his former boss, Suge Knight. The once feared record exec, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for the killing of Terry Carter, made the MC his flagship artist between late 1999 and the mid-2000s. Despite that tenure, Crooked I never released his Say Hi To The Bad Guy debut solo album while signed to the legendary label. Like Kurupt and Michel’le, he was also offered an executive position by the Compton, California native.
At 1:53:00, Kxng Crooked says, “He wanted to give me an exec job, at one point. I know Kurupt had a job.” N.O.R.E. suggests that Dame Dash bit from Knight when he appointed Cam’ron to be Roc-A-Fella Records’ president. “Suge is like this: ‘I’m gonna go meet with Lyor [Cohen], and I want you to learn the game and get your business IQ up, so I’m gonna take you with me. So you can just soak up game.’ That’s how Suge was. He wanted to do retirement funds for artists, he wanted to do [healthcare for artists]. But every time he tried to do something on that level, he got resistance from the powers that be. And sometimes that resistance comes in the form of the Feds knocking at your door.”
In 1996, the FBI reportedly investigated the label founded by Knight and Dr. Dre. The L.A. Times reported the probe the same month that label star Tupac Shakur was fatally wounded in Las Vegas, Nevada. Knight, who was with Pac during that incident and also hit with gunfire, was eventually sentenced to prison for violating probation that night. After Knight was released, in the early 2000s, the FBI raided Death Row’s Beverly Hills offices, and various properties, including Crooked I’s home.
Today (March 15), Drink Champs released its episode with Xzibit. Notably, another Southern California-based lyricist also guested on the show. Kxng Crooked (akaCrooked I) joined N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s round-table alongside Mr. X-To-The-Z. In a two-hour discussion, the show played host to some of Crook’s most revealing thoughts surrounding the 2018 disbanding of Slaughterhouse.
Just under one year ago, the Long Beach, California MCmade an announcement that shocked some fans. “I’ve been sober for two years. Let me tell you a secret: sober Crook likes to rap. [Slaughterhouse] ain’t rapping [together] no more and that’s fine. It was fun while it lasted,” Crooked I told fans in a video published last April. He also addressed the group’s third album, which had been in the works for years. “Glass House, I have no clue. All I can tell you [is] it exists. If it comes out, I’ll retweet it. Other than that, it’s all love. Everybody who supported me in Slaughterhouse, thank you.”
Kxng Crooked joins the Xzibit conversation at the 1:03:00 mark. At 1:11:00, Crooked I is asked about Joe Budden’s impact on the group disbanding. The guest begins addressing Budden’s late 2017 remarks that eventually led to a high-profile beef with Eminem. “I just felt like [Joe Budden’s] approach was wrong. If you don’t like something, ‘It’s not for me,’ [or] ‘Yo, I don’t like it,’ [or], [Eminem’s] the homie, [but] this ain’t for me.’ But when you say something is ‘trash,’ you sh*t on Paul Rosenberg’s rollout, you’re taking it a little further.”
The guest continues, “And then I know the backstory; I know that there were some issues that [Joe Budden] felt against the label. You’re not giving [Eminem] a fair critique now, ’cause now you’ve got malice behind what you’re saying; it’s personal. My whole thing was like, just keep it a buck.”
Last year began with Eminem making a “Chloraseptic (Remix)” including new lyrics that many—including D12’s Bizarre—believed were in response to Joe Budden’s words. By last August’s sneak-attack album, Kamikaze, Eminem left nothing to suspicion. Less than a week after the release, Em showcased the “Fall” video, containing the bars, “Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it or have his body bag get zipped / The closest thing he’s had to hits is smackin’ b*tches.”
In response to the album, Joe Budden released a fiery episode of his podcast. In addition to unpacking a history of tensions between he and Marshall surrounding the marketing, assistance, and creative input of Slaughterhouse, the retired MC alleged that he’d been a better rapper and than Eminem for the last decade. The host yelled his points throughout the episode, stating that he’d be willing to respond to Em’ in a song, if his opponent gave him something worth responding to.
Back on the new Drink Champs, Kxng Crooked points to that September podcast as evidence that these feelings had been seeded for some time. “Eventually, it came out with, ‘I felt like I was better than Em’ for [the last] 10 years,’ [and more].” Crooked asserts that Joe’s anger towards Em’ and label head Paul Rosenberg was not used in context for his scathing Revival criticism.
At 1:14:00, N.O.R.E. says that he possibly questions the merits of Budden’s argument regarding Rap superiority over the last decade. In response, Crooked I says, “Every MC is supposed to feel like they’re the best, so I’ll give [him] that. Now that you’ve said that, I think you’ve got to back it up with more than just a statement. ‘Cause Em’ came at you, where you at, Joe? You said that you was better than him for the past 10 years. He gave you a few bars. You gotta back it up now; you just said this. If you don’t back it up, I don’t think even you believe [it is true].” Xzibit, who has worked extensively with Eminem adds, “You can’t just say [you are not responding because of] retirement. All bets are off.”
Crooked I continues, questioning Joe Budden’s appreciation and loyalty to Eminem and Shady. “I feel like Joe forgot [about the helping hand] when he was saying what he was saying. I don’t forget solid sh*t; that’s just not how I’m cut.” He suggests that earlier, Budden needed help that Eminem and Shady provided. To further illustrate, Crook’ recalls an early 2000s meeting with Suge Knight and N.O.R.E. in a Manhattan recording studio. He says that he forever remembers Noreaga’s help in a time when the Death Row co-founder and star artist wanted to make sure they were safe on the East Coast. “I never forget solid sh*t. So I would think as long as Em’ and Paul didn’t cross him in some type of way, I would think [Joe Budden] would have enough respect to be like, ‘Yo, I ain’t gon’ step on the gas on this one.’”
At 1:18:00, Kxng Crooked reveals how Joe’s 2017 words ultimately botched plans for Glass House. “It definitely affected Slaughterhouse. Because me and Royce [5’9] was working behind the scenes, trying to get the [Glass House] album out to the people. [The ‘Untouchable] critique] was like a grenade; he took the pin out and tossed that b*tch,” says the guest with a chuckle.
Addressing Joe’s podcast points from last September, Kxng Crooked also defends Eminem’s input. Budden was critical of Eminem not giving the group the proper push, compared to 50 Cent, D12, and earlier Shady successes. “I believe we came in at a time on Shady where Em’ didn’t have to do so much sh*t. He was used to having one formula to make things rock. But that formula was changing with the times,” explains Crook. Last year, Joe was also critical of Eminem’s production, beat choices, and creative input on a group that had released one album before signing with Shady. In an interview with Sway Calloway produced by Shady, Eminem responded to those charges.
Crooked I seemingly agrees with Marshall. “So what Em’ did, he said, ‘Okay, that first round [with welcome to: OUR HOUSE], that’s on me. Y’all go back in and make another album, and I’ma just let y’all rock. Whatever y’all wanna do, handle it the way y’all want to handle it. Roll it out how you want to roll it out, just do you.’ We all agreed and went back into the lab.” It is here that the C.O.B. founder says he is most frustrated. “That’s my problem [with what happened]: if you agree to go back and record another album and give it another shot, why is we still talking about [welcome to: OUR HOUSE]?” Kxng Crooked seemingly suggests that Budden remained displeased with the group album, instead of seizing the opportunity surrounding a follow-up album. Moreover, the California veteran says he relocated to New York City for six weeks to work on that unreleased LP. “Then the team broke up.”
N.O.R.E. asks if the guest considered the group of four solo MCs “a brotherhood.” Kxng Crooked responds, “I thought it was. Then, at times, I say, ‘I don’t think it was.’” Moments later he says, “I’m just cut different; I got three Slaughterhouse tattoos. When it was goin’ down, if anybody was in trouble, I was there with ’em. It was just a different scenario.” N.O.R.E. and Crooked I bring up Joe Budden’s late 2000s beef with Wu-Tang Clan. Kxng Crooked admits that fallout from that short-lived beef involving a physical 2009 altercation with Raekwon, cost him relationships with his circle.
At 85:30, N.O.R.E. says that after witnessing the 2018 breakup of Slaughterhouse he has faith for a reunion. Royce, Crooked, and Joell worked together on the remix to “Timberlan’d Up” late last year. “I don’t think it’s over,” says the Capone-N-Noreaga co-founder. Quickly, Crook’ puts those notions to bed. “It’s a wrap on that one.”
At 1:03:00 Rory enters and joins. N.O.R.E. asks the new guest if there will be a Slaughterhouse again. “This is an ambush; I want to get this on record,” responds The Joe Budden Podcast co-host who previously worked at Def Jam and Sony Records. “I saw Crook’ outside; Crook’ is love all day. This is a total ambush; I just want to make that clear…Slaughterhouse is none of my business. Why would y’all ask me about Slaughterhouse?” He charges that Crooked I and Joe Budden’s relationship is an isolated situation. “I can’t objectively talk about Slaughterhouse. One of their members is family to me. That’s their business.”
Ten minutes later, at 1:13:00, Kxng Crooked brings up that the loyal fans will always ask about the group that nearly lasted a decade. “People want to know, that’s how strong the Slaughterhouse brand was.” “Not was, is,” corrects Rory. Moments later, the MC born Dominick Wickliffe reflects on his group. “I don’t know why it’s gone; I know the Em’ sh*t played a big part in it…” In the next breath, Crook’ affirms his loyalty to Eminem, who he worked with nearly a decade before Slaughterhouse.
At 1:55:00 N.O.R.E. asks Rory if he thinks Joe went too far with his Eminem criticism. “I think a lot of the things that Joe [was quoted as saying] were made up, if you go back and look at what he [actually] said on Everyday Struggle. I think it got blown out of proportion. I think a lot of sh*t went to [headlines].” He adds, “Just knowing Joe personally, and how much he loves Em’, and respects him, sh*t got blown outta proportion, dog.”
As Rory speaks, Xzibit shoots Crooked I a look. The LBC native interrupts, “He used the word ‘trash,’ and I think that was—” Rory interrupts, asking about the context of the word. Kxng Crooked states that it was in reference to “Untouchable.” “[Joe Budden] said, ‘It’s trash, throw it in the rice,’ or some sh*t. You know what Joe be sayin’. But yeah, I mean, that’s going too far.”
In response Rory aligns with his podcast co-host’s opinion. “I don’t think he was buggin’” Kxng Crooked interjects, “Well, I think he was. I know you don’t want to have that conversation, yeah, but my whole thing is, like I was sayin’, dog, if you got a lil’ issue with somebody, pass on the critique of their album and their singles. Because, how can you be fair? How can you come from a place where you’re just listening to it [while] setting your personal feelings to the side? I don’t think so.”
Crooked I continues, “See, me and Royce, we were very hands-on with Slaughterhouse. From the beginning to end…we really went in the trenches for Slaughterhouse. You get me? So when you go in the trenches like that, if you got a communication line with your brothers, then you talk to your brothers. ‘Yo, this is what I’m about to do. Is this gonna harm anything that you guys are doing to try and get Glass House out right now? ‘Cause I don’t like my time to be wasted. If I’m flying from Cali’ to New York, sittin’ in them offices, fighting for this Glass House sh*t, on my own time, let me know if you’re gonna throw a grenade at [somebody]. Just let me know, and I won’t get on that plane. You feel me?”
As Kxng Crooked finishes his sentence, Rory gets up and exits the room without a goodbye. With a belly-laugh, Kxng Crooked claims, “It got awkward.” Seconds later, the episode ends.
Earlier in the Drink Champs episode, Crooked I makes a powerful point about his former boss, Suge Knight. The once feared record exec, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for the killing of Terry Carter, made the MC his flagship artist between late 1999 and the mid-2000s. Despite that tenure, Crooked I never released his Say Hi To The Bad Guy debut solo album while signed to the legendary label. Like Kurupt and Michel’le, he was also offered an executive position by the Compton, California native.
At 1:53:00, Kxng Crooked says, “He wanted to give me an exec job, at one point. I know Kurupt had a job.” N.O.R.E. suggests that Dame Dash bit from Knight when he appointed Cam’ron to be Roc-A-Fella Records’ president. “Suge is like this: ‘I’m gonna go meet with Lyor [Cohen], and I want you to learn the game and get your business IQ up, so I’m gonna take you with me. So you can just soak up game.’ That’s how Suge was. He wanted to do retirement funds for artists, he wanted to do [healthcare for artists]. But every time he tried to do something on that level, he got resistance from the powers that be. And sometimes that resistance comes in the form of the Feds knocking at your door.”
In 1996, the FBI reportedly investigated the label founded by Knight and Dr. Dre. The L.A. Times reported the probe the same month that label star Tupac Shakur was fatally wounded in Las Vegas, Nevada. Knight, who was with Pac during that incident and also hit with gunfire, was eventually sentenced to prison for violating probation that night. After Knight was released, in the early 2000s, the FBI raided Death Row’s Beverly Hills offices, and various properties, including Crooked I’s home.
From three different cities, three respected MCs come together to do damage. Brooklyn, New York’s, Los Angeles, California’s Rakaa Iriscience, and Lawrence, Massachusetts’ REKS unite on the “To The Fullest” video. With the lyricists’ respective styles weaving seamlessly throughout their delivery, this arrangement lives up to its name. The song is part of the Because We Live It campaign, with the track produced by 12 Finger Dan, and cuts by Stevie Drumz.
The single is accompanied by a black-and-white filtered visual featuring boomboxes, graf’, and some dancing. The video introduces the track with a message emphasizing the importance of staying focused and being attentive in the name of creativity. With a white backdrop serving as the canvas, the contrast of the video not only focuses the viewer’s attention on the physical Hip-Hop elements of the vid’, but draws attention to the message the three MCs paint with the bristles of their bars.
REKS goes first. Ace follows, spitting, “Not too many can do it like yours truly / That’s ’cause when I do it, I gotta do it fully / I mean goin’ all out, no frontin’, no slackin’ / They can feel it in the crowd, from front into back’in / You’ve never seen a greater man / Like an instrument, my voice gets into it, and I play the band / I’m like a horn section, you wantin’ protection / ‘Cause I hit you with rhymes, no one’s an exception.” Rakaa closes things out.
#BonusBeat:Ambrosia For Heads‘ recent conversation with Masta Ace and Marco Polo in Brooklyn. This video and countless others are also available on AFH TV.
From three different cities, three respected MCs come together to do damage. Brooklyn, New York’s, Los Angeles, California’s Rakaa Iriscience, and Lawrence, Massachusetts’ REKS unite on the “To The Fullest” video. With the lyricists’ respective styles weaving seamlessly throughout their delivery, this arrangement lives up to its name. The song is part of the Because We Live It campaign, with the track produced by 12 Finger Dan, and cuts by Stevie Drumz.
The single is accompanied by a black-and-white filtered visual featuring boomboxes, graf’, and some dancing. The video introduces the track with a message emphasizing the importance of staying focused and being attentive in the name of creativity. With a white backdrop serving as the canvas, the contrast of the video not only focuses the viewer’s attention on the physical Hip-Hop elements of the vid’, but draws attention to the message the three MCs paint with the bristles of their bars.
REKS goes first. Ace follows, spitting, “Not too many can do it like yours truly / That’s ’cause when I do it, I gotta do it fully / I mean goin’ all out, no frontin’, no slackin’ / They can feel it in the crowd, from front into back’in / You’ve never seen a greater man / Like an instrument, my voice gets into it, and I play the band / I’m like a horn section, you wantin’ protection / ‘Cause I hit you with rhymes, no one’s an exception.” Rakaa closes things out.
#BonusBeat:Ambrosia For Heads‘ recent conversation with Masta Ace and Marco Polo in Brooklyn. This video and countless others are also available on AFH TV.
As has been the case throughout the last five years, Vic Mensa had a busy 2018. The Chicagoan showed no signs of slowing down or taking a pause this year, both in terms of making music and staying in some headlines. Mensa released Hooligans on Roc Nation. The eight-song release involves The Gap Band’s Uncle Charlie Wilson, Ty Dolla $ign, G Herbo, G-Eazy, and Mr. Hudson, as well as production from Travis Barker.
To promote this month’s release, Mensa made another freestyle appearance with the L.A. Leakers show at Power 106. As he has done in the past, Vic dropped some heavy bars with the moment, and addressed the most controversial part of his 2018. Rapping over Biggie’s “Spit Your Game” (as produced by Swizz Beatz), Vic kicks, “You know me, I’m spittin’ game / Talkin’ slick, 17 hollowtips / Catch clip like a Nikon / Clap it like I turn the lights on / Lights off, then I drive off in a white Porsche, leave white chalk / We don’t let bygones be bygones, we buy guns with extensions / Come get at me, f*ck commission, Twitter beef not litter me / Gucci shoes from Italy, Mike and Lebron 2-23 / In my Mary Jeans Knots in, I’ma die sinnin’, Lord willin’ / Save-a-hoe’s you Clark Kentin’ / Do or Die, I’m po’ pimpin’, do a suicide windows tinted / Buy a newer ride, blow dope in it.” The excerpt confronts Vic’s BET Hip Hop Awards freestyle, which sparked controversy for criticizing the slain XXXTentacion for allegedly abusing women with his mother in the audience for the video performance. Several of XXX’s associates threatened Vic, while figures including Charlamagne Tha God and Joe Budden called out Vic for the choice as well as the contradiction, given Vic’s admitted history with domestic abuse.
Later in the freestyle, Vic makes another bold point. “One day ni**as best friends and the next day on some opp sh*t / BIG knew who shot Pac, Suge know who shot BIG / Good news they not dead, they still alive when I spit / Tell them ni**as I got this, Save Money and the Roc, b*tch.” The same year that Eminem addressed Puffy’s alleged involvement in Tupac’s 1996 murder in his “Killshot” diss aimed at MGK, Vic stirs the ’90s conspiracy theory pot with his declaration. History shows that no arrests were made in either Rap murder, just six months apart in late 1996 and early 1997.
Mensa closes his bars with fury. “F*ck police, f*ck the system / They p*ssy ni**as: gynecologists and obstetricians / That’s an observation, complications with my father so mind been racing / I was out of state when he go out of inpatient / Been patient I ain’t waiting no more, I’m taking the dough / Seven figures like a number with no area code / I did a shoe deal with Puma when I was 20 years old / I could market sneakers and still wouldn’t sell you my soul.” Mensa makes the moment count.
As has been the case throughout the last five years, Vic Mensa had a busy 2018. The Chicagoan showed no signs of slowing down or taking a pause this year, both in terms of making music and staying in some headlines. Mensa released Hooligans on Roc Nation. The eight-song release involves The Gap Band’s Uncle Charlie Wilson, Ty Dolla $ign, G Herbo, G-Eazy, and Mr. Hudson, as well as production from Travis Barker.
To promote this month’s release, Mensa made another freestyle appearance with the L.A. Leakers show at Power 106. As he has done in the past, Vic dropped some heavy bars with the moment, and addressed the most controversial part of his 2018. Rapping over Biggie’s “Spit Your Game” (as produced by Swizz Beatz), Vic kicks, “You know me, I’m spittin’ game / Talkin’ slick, 17 hollowtips / Catch clip like a Nikon / Clap it like I turn the lights on / Lights off, then I drive off in a white Porsche, leave white chalk / We don’t let bygones be bygones, we buy guns with extensions / Come get at me, f*ck commission, Twitter beef not litter me / Gucci shoes from Italy, Mike and Lebron 2-23 / In my Mary Jeans Knots in, I’ma die sinnin’, Lord willin’ / Save-a-hoe’s you Clark Kentin’ / Do or Die, I’m po’ pimpin’, do a suicide windows tinted / Buy a newer ride, blow dope in it.” The excerpt confronts Vic’s BET Hip Hop Awards freestyle, which sparked controversy for criticizing the slain XXXTentacion for allegedly abusing women with his mother in the audience for the video performance. Several of XXX’s associates threatened Vic, while figures including Charlamagne Tha God and Joe Budden called out Vic for the choice as well as the contradiction, given Vic’s admitted history with domestic abuse.
Later in the freestyle, Vic makes another bold point. “One day ni**as best friends and the next day on some opp sh*t / BIG knew who shot Pac, Suge know who shot BIG / Good news they not dead, they still alive when I spit / Tell them ni**as I got this, Save Money and the Roc, b*tch.” The same year that Eminem addressed Puffy’s alleged involvement in Tupac’s 1996 murder in his “Killshot” diss aimed at MGK, Vic stirs the ’90s conspiracy theory pot with his declaration. History shows that no arrests were made in either Rap murder, just six months apart in late 1996 and early 1997.
Mensa closes his bars with fury. “F*ck police, f*ck the system / They p*ssy ni**as: gynecologists and obstetricians / That’s an observation, complications with my father so mind been racing / I was out of state when he go out of inpatient / Been patient I ain’t waiting no more, I’m taking the dough / Seven figures like a number with no area code / I did a shoe deal with Puma when I was 20 years old / I could market sneakers and still wouldn’t sell you my soul.” Mensa makes the moment count.
The night of September 7, 1996 changed history forever. Mike Tyson defeated Bruce Seldon in a WBA championship fight that lasted less than two minutes. He entered the ring to a song by friend Tupac Shakur, who attended the MGM event seated beside manager and employer Suge Knight.
After the decision was confirmed, Shakur posed with Tyson briefly beside the ring. Pac, Knight, and other members of the Death Row Records entourage entered the MGM lobby. According to reports—including from DJ Quik—Death Row associate Travon Lane pointed out Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson to Shakur in the lobby. Allegedly, Baby Lane was responsible for the recent snatching of Lane’s Death Row Records chain and medallion in the Lakewood Mall. Shakur rushed Baby Lane, with Death Row in tow. Baby Lane, a confirmed member of Compton’s Southside Crips, ended up on the floor, suffering a public beating caught on MGM surveillance cameras. As authorities arrived, the Death Row entourage left the scene without an arrest.
That same evening, Death Row had planned a concert and fight after-party at Knight’s Club 662 in Vegas. In transit, Knight drove a black BMW sedan on custom rims. Tupac Shakur was his lone passenger. Death Row entourage, Tha Outlawz, and members of security were in the same convoy. At the intersection of Flamingo & Koval, a white car pulled alongside the BMW and opened fire. Both Shakur and Knight were struck with rounds. The shooters fled. Knight eventually maneuvered the BMW to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Shakur was pronounced dead on September 13, 1996 as a result of his gunshot wounds. Knight, who survived despite being grazed in the head, would be sentenced to prison nine years following the damning surveillance footage inside the casino related to a parole violation. That incarceration would cause Death Row hardship, and eventually see the label sold in bankruptcy. Moreover, no one was ever charged with the murder of Shakur.
Today, Suge Knight is serving another sentence involving death and motor vehicles. Before his 28-year prison sentence for the death of Terry Carter, Knight granted a series of interviews to Hollywood movie director Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua previously made Training Day, Brooklyn’s Finest, and Southpaw. He has directed Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and one of the men on the scene the day of Knight’s latest infraction, Cle “Bone” Sloan. These interviews are curated to make American Dream/American Knightmare, a rare and personal glimpse into Suge Knight’s life and career that currently is available on Showtime. In addition to Knight, the documentary—shot in Los Angeles, Miami, and Vegas, involves the Compton, California native’s parents and other relatives.
One gripping sequence in Fuqua’s film finds Knight on the Vegas Strip, speaking openly about the night in September of ’96, and what happened.
“Everybody got what they wanted that night,” says Knight at about 52:00 in Fuqua’s documentary. “People got to see [Mike] Tyson knock a mothaf*cka out. When you see a Tyson fight, you’re going to see grown men fight. So maybe that’s probably the reason that got us all f*cked up and in a lot of sh*t from fight night. After the fight is the fight. Pac had a name, at that point, in the music business as a rapper, as the motherf*cking best—the best you can get. Pac wanted that name in the streets, ’cause he on that sh*t, as the best. At least he was man enough and gangsta enough to push his moves and get that name—regardless of whatever it cost. When you see a Tyson fight, you want to fight. So when the little homie get at Pac, he like bam. Next thing I know, he tellin’ Pac something, and he point,” Knight is believed to be referring to Travon Lane, who the Los Angeles Times reported to have participated in the altercation along with Knight associates Alton McDonald, Roger “Neckbone” Williams, and Aaron “Heron” Palmer. Palmer and McDonald were later killed. As of the 2002 report, Lane and Williams were both incarcerated.
“[The] next thing I know, I see Pac [charging the man that was pointed at]. Pac, you know, took the ni**a down. [Tupac is] my little brother. He pushed that M.O.B. [line that aligns with the Compton street gang]. He done took down a well-known Compton gang-banger, who was a Crip. Tupac looked at me and was like, ‘You see how I took off?’ I’m like, ‘Sh*t, you did that.’ I said, ‘Understand one thing: you gonna push that line on somebody, it’s some gang-banger activities [that will] be involved. [There are] consequences with that, you know. After that situation, we on some real ghetto politics right now. You got the homies over here, and you got the [Crips] over here. And you’re gettin’ everything you asked for: you’re the best in the Rap game. Sh*t, now you being the best in this street game.’ I said, ‘The only thing different, in the Rap game, there’s a reward. In the streets when you’re known as the best, you become a trophy. Everybody wants the trophy.’”
At 56:00, Knight drives through the strip in recent years, in a late-model black BMW sedan. “I’m gonna take you there, step-by-step, and show you exactly [where] we started from and where we ended up at.” Knight tells Fuqua’s cameras.
Driving down East Flamingo, Knight drives in the lane that he and Pac were in 22 years ago. Knight accuses an anonymous member of Reggie Wright’s Wrightway Security company (a man he would later trust to run Death Row’s day-to-day operations) erroneously pulled in front of the Knight-Shakur BMW that night. He says an associate urged them to change lanes for security. “As I proceed to get over, the other car comes right there, which is the Cadillac. When the [men inside] the Cadillac start to shoot, Pac get hit. I pulls him down; I get hit in the head. Bam! When I pull him down, bam! I get hit in the head. When I get hit in the head, I immediately look up. When I look up, I seen him—you know—the motherf*cker with fear in his b*tch-ass eyes. Like sh*t, he felt like sh*t…he done got him a trophy. Like he done that.”
In another sequence edited with the Vegas clip, Knight explains, “A lot of people that were with us, they couldn’t start shooting right away because they’d have been shooting at us. We was like in the middle of it. So they had to get out they car and they have to run around. By the time they ran around, these dudes in the other car was trying to drive off.” Knight confirms that some of his entourage shot at the car that he confirms to be a Cadillac. He says those bullets hit the car. He says that moments later, when the shooters on Knight’s side asked if they should give chase on the assailants, he ordered them not to. Instead, he said that he would go to the hospital. “That’s when we came back around, we got jacked up by the police. They wanted to search us and sh*t,” recalls Suge. “So when the ambulance finally came, I’m like, ‘Hey, get [Tupac] out of the motherf*ckin’ car,’ ’cause the police were jammin’ me up too. They ain’t know how to take the seatbelt off.” Knight, whose car was brand new, had complicated features. He has to show the Metro Police how to help get Shakur out of the vehicle. “Pac was cool. He was like, ‘You can tell y’all some broke m’f*ckas; y’all ain’t know how to take no expensive seatbelts off. If a mothaf*cka was in a Honda, you would’ve had me out the car already.’ He was laughin’ and sh*t. We was both goin’ to the hospital, laughin’ and jokin’ all the way.” Knight, as he’s said on record before, claims Shakur believed his friend and colleague had the worse injury.”
Tupac died, while Knight left the hospital hours after being admitted.
In American Dream/American Knightmare, Fuqua mentions the theories surrounding allegations that Knight orchestrated Pac’s murder. “Outsider’s opinion—doesn’t matter, ’cause [it is] opinion. They’re just going by what somebody in the media [or] somebody else says to cover up they own tracks. What kind of many gonna turn around and say, ‘Hey…shoot him, and shoot me in the head twice when I cover him up,’? I’m the only person who took a loss when Pac moved on. Not only did I lose the idea of a friend you can have, or a little brother you can have, Pac was one of the most incredible artists. I know for a fact he worked way more alive than dead.” Knight pulls over his BMW with the crew inside. He exits the vehicle and audibly vomits profusely off camera in one of the most interesting parts of the doc.
Moments later, back in L.A., Fuqua asks Suge about reports that Tupac Shakur wished to leave Death Row Records in his last days, prompting some theorists to believe it caused Knight and others to kill the rapper. Suge says that those reports stem from people who feared Tupac and saw him as competition. In Miami, in another interview portion, Suge says, “When Jimmy Iovine heard or thought that Pac was dead, the first thing he said was, ‘You can’t beat a dead man’s sales!’ He said, ‘You’re lucky as f*ck; you hit the jackpot.’” Suge also decries the former Interscope Chairman for partnering with Puff Daddy and Bad Boy in the 2000s.
The night of September 7, 1996 changed history forever. Mike Tyson defeated Bruce Seldon in a WBA championship fight that lasted less than two minutes. He entered the ring to a song by friend Tupac Shakur, who attended the MGM event seated beside manager and employer Suge Knight.
After the decision was confirmed, Shakur posed with Tyson briefly beside the ring. Pac, Knight, and other members of the Death Row Records entourage entered the MGM lobby. According to reports—including from DJ Quik—Death Row associate Travon Lane pointed out Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson to Shakur in the lobby. Allegedly, Baby Lane was responsible for the recent snatching of Lane’s Death Row Records chain and medallion in the Lakewood Mall. Shakur rushed Baby Lane, with Death Row in tow. Baby Lane, a confirmed member of Compton’s Southside Crips, ended up on the floor, suffering a public beating caught on MGM surveillance cameras. As authorities arrived, the Death Row entourage left the scene without an arrest.
That same evening, Death Row had planned a concert and fight after-party at Knight’s Club 662 in Vegas. In transit, Knight drove a black BMW sedan on custom rims. Tupac Shakur was his lone passenger. Death Row entourage, Tha Outlawz, and members of security were in the same convoy. At the intersection of Flamingo & Koval, a white car pulled alongside the BMW and opened fire. Both Shakur and Knight were struck with rounds. The shooters fled. Knight eventually maneuvered the BMW to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. Shakur was pronounced dead on September 13, 1996 as a result of his gunshot wounds. Knight, who survived despite being grazed in the head, would be sentenced to prison nine years following the damning surveillance footage inside the casino related to a parole violation. That incarceration would cause Death Row hardship, and eventually see the label sold in bankruptcy. Moreover, no one was ever charged with the murder of Shakur.
Today, Suge Knight is serving another sentence involving death and motor vehicles. Before his 28-year prison sentence for the death of Terry Carter, Knight granted a series of interviews to Hollywood movie director Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua previously made Training Day, Brooklyn’s Finest, and Southpaw. He has directed Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and one of the men on the scene the day of Knight’s latest infraction, Cle “Bone” Sloan. These interviews are curated to make American Dream/American Knightmare, a rare and personal glimpse into Suge Knight’s life and career that currently is available on Showtime. In addition to Knight, the documentary—shot in Los Angeles, Miami, and Vegas, involves the Compton, California native’s parents and other relatives.
One gripping sequence in Fuqua’s film finds Knight on the Vegas Strip, speaking openly about the night in September of ’96, and what happened.
“Everybody got what they wanted that night,” says Knight at about 52:00 in Fuqua’s documentary. “People got to see [Mike] Tyson knock a mothaf*cka out. When you see a Tyson fight, you’re going to see grown men fight. So maybe that’s probably the reason that got us all f*cked up and in a lot of sh*t from fight night. After the fight is the fight. Pac had a name, at that point, in the music business as a rapper, as the motherf*cking best—the best you can get. Pac wanted that name in the streets, ’cause he on that sh*t, as the best. At least he was man enough and gangsta enough to push his moves and get that name—regardless of whatever it cost. When you see a Tyson fight, you want to fight. So when the little homie get at Pac, he like bam. Next thing I know, he tellin’ Pac something, and he point,” Knight is believed to be referring to Travon Lane, who the Los Angeles Times reported to have participated in the altercation along with Knight associates Alton McDonald, Roger “Neckbone” Williams, and Aaron “Heron” Palmer. Palmer and McDonald were later killed. As of the 2002 report, Lane and Williams were both incarcerated.
“[The] next thing I know, I see Pac [charging the man that was pointed at]. Pac, you know, took the ni**a down. [Tupac is] my little brother. He pushed that M.O.B. [line that aligns with the Compton street gang]. He done took down a well-known Compton gang-banger, who was a Crip. Tupac looked at me and was like, ‘You see how I took off?’ I’m like, ‘Sh*t, you did that.’ I said, ‘Understand one thing: you gonna push that line on somebody, it’s some gang-banger activities [that will] be involved. [There are] consequences with that, you know. After that situation, we on some real ghetto politics right now. You got the homies over here, and you got the [Crips] over here. And you’re gettin’ everything you asked for: you’re the best in the Rap game. Sh*t, now you being the best in this street game.’ I said, ‘The only thing different, in the Rap game, there’s a reward. In the streets when you’re known as the best, you become a trophy. Everybody wants the trophy.’”
At 56:00, Knight drives through the strip in recent years, in a late-model black BMW sedan. “I’m gonna take you there, step-by-step, and show you exactly [where] we started from and where we ended up at.” Knight tells Fuqua’s cameras.
Driving down East Flamingo, Knight drives in the lane that he and Pac were in 22 years ago. Knight accuses an anonymous member of Reggie Wright’s Wrightway Security company (a man he would later trust to run Death Row’s day-to-day operations) erroneously pulled in front of the Knight-Shakur BMW that night. He says an associate urged them to change lanes for security. “As I proceed to get over, the other car comes right there, which is the Cadillac. When the [men inside] the Cadillac start to shoot, Pac get hit. I pulls him down; I get hit in the head. Bam! When I pull him down, bam! I get hit in the head. When I get hit in the head, I immediately look up. When I look up, I seen him—you know—the motherf*cker with fear in his b*tch-ass eyes. Like sh*t, he felt like sh*t…he done got him a trophy. Like he done that.”
In another sequence edited with the Vegas clip, Knight explains, “A lot of people that were with us, they couldn’t start shooting right away because they’d have been shooting at us. We was like in the middle of it. So they had to get out they car and they have to run around. By the time they ran around, these dudes in the other car was trying to drive off.” Knight confirms that some of his entourage shot at the car that he confirms to be a Cadillac. He says those bullets hit the car. He says that moments later, when the shooters on Knight’s side asked if they should give chase on the assailants, he ordered them not to. Instead, he said that he would go to the hospital. “That’s when we came back around, we got jacked up by the police. They wanted to search us and sh*t,” recalls Suge. “So when the ambulance finally came, I’m like, ‘Hey, get [Tupac] out of the motherf*ckin’ car,’ ’cause the police were jammin’ me up too. They ain’t know how to take the seatbelt off.” Knight, whose car was brand new, had complicated features. He has to show the Metro Police how to help get Shakur out of the vehicle. “Pac was cool. He was like, ‘You can tell y’all some broke m’f*ckas; y’all ain’t know how to take no expensive seatbelts off. If a mothaf*cka was in a Honda, you would’ve had me out the car already.’ He was laughin’ and sh*t. We was both goin’ to the hospital, laughin’ and jokin’ all the way.” Knight, as he’s said on record before, claims Shakur believed his friend and colleague had the worse injury.”
Tupac died, while Knight left the hospital hours after being admitted.
In American Dream/American Knightmare, Fuqua mentions the theories surrounding allegations that Knight orchestrated Pac’s murder. “Outsider’s opinion—doesn’t matter, ’cause [it is] opinion. They’re just going by what somebody in the media [or] somebody else says to cover up they own tracks. What kind of many gonna turn around and say, ‘Hey…shoot him, and shoot me in the head twice when I cover him up,’? I’m the only person who took a loss when Pac moved on. Not only did I lose the idea of a friend you can have, or a little brother you can have, Pac was one of the most incredible artists. I know for a fact he worked way more alive than dead.” Knight pulls over his BMW with the crew inside. He exits the vehicle and audibly vomits profusely off camera in one of the most interesting parts of the doc.
Moments later, back in L.A., Fuqua asks Suge about reports that Tupac Shakur wished to leave Death Row Records in his last days, prompting some theorists to believe it caused Knight and others to kill the rapper. Suge says that those reports stem from people who feared Tupac and saw him as competition. In Miami, in another interview portion, Suge says, “When Jimmy Iovine heard or thought that Pac was dead, the first thing he said was, ‘You can’t beat a dead man’s sales!’ He said, ‘You’re lucky as f*ck; you hit the jackpot.’” Suge also decries the former Interscope Chairman for partnering with Puff Daddy and Bad Boy in the 2000s.
The second song Snoop Dogg ever released to the public may be his most iconic. “One-two-three-and to the fo’ / Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Dr. Dre is at the do’,” begins 1992’s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” The first inhale of Dr. Dre’s Chronic presented a laid-back side of the Long Beach, California MC first heard on the menacing “Deep Cover” earlier that year.
“G Thang” has become a time-piece. It conjures images of lowriders, and indo’ smoke, barbeques, and looking over one’s shoulder at the light. With a would-be mogul behind the wheel of the track and the dark purple ’64 Impala in its equally iconic video, it is how folks remember G-Funk. While the genesis of G-Funk is up for debate, the song that many believe best exemplifies the sub-genre of Rap is not. The song was a grand introduction for Snoopy, who would show the world how an MC did it Doggystyle less than one year later.
“[Dr. Dre’s beat] ain’t what I wrote “‘G’ Thang’ off of,” reveals Snoop. “I wrote it off [this other beat].” Snoop mimics the bassline of the track. Host Questlove points out that it’s Southside Movement’s “I’ve Been Watching You” (embedded below),” Snoop confirms, “That’s the beat [Dr. Dre] gave me. I took it [over to] my cousin’s [in Long Beach], and I wrote the whole “‘G’ Thang” song to that. [I] came back to [SOLAR] Studios, and bust that sh*t off that for [Dr. Dre].” At 3:00 in the audio clip, Snoop demonstrates his flow in the beat. Quest’ and Phonte provide some improvised background vocals.
At the top of the clip, Questlove also points out to Snoop that Dre sampled his late parents’ (Lee and Jacqui Andrews) vocals for another element of the finished song. Congress Alley’s 1973 cut “Are You Looking” is used. Quest’ demonstrates, and Snoop knows exactly what he is referring to.
Elsewhere in the full conversation, Snoop details The D.O.C.’s input on “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” At 25:00 mins, he says that the Dallas, Texas Rap legend suggested the “like this, that, and this” famous part of the hook. Snoop says that The Chronic sessions yielded approximately 25 songs; Dre used 16. The rapper says his favorite cut that was not used is a song called “Hoe Hopper.” Snoop also says that until the late 2000s, he made approximately 15% of his tour revenue, because his ensemble stage shows employed 30 people at a time. Last month, his Doggystyle debut turned 25 years old.
#BonusBeat: The record containing the sample that Snoop Dogg wrote his iconic verse to:
The second song Snoop Dogg ever released to the public may be his most iconic. “One-two-three-and to the fo’ / Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Dr. Dre is at the do’,” begins 1992’s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” The first inhale of Dr. Dre’s Chronic presented a laid-back side of the Long Beach, California MC first heard on the menacing “Deep Cover” earlier that year.
“G Thang” has become a time-piece. It conjures images of lowriders, and indo’ smoke, barbeques, and looking over one’s shoulder at the light. With a would-be mogul behind the wheel of the track and the dark purple ’64 Impala in its equally iconic video, it is how folks remember G-Funk. While the genesis of G-Funk is up for debate, the song that many believe best exemplifies the sub-genre of Rap is not. The song was a grand introduction for Snoopy, who would show the world how an MC did it Doggystyle less than one year later.
“[Dr. Dre’s beat] ain’t what I wrote “‘G’ Thang’ off of,” reveals Snoop. “I wrote it off [this other beat].” Snoop mimics the bassline of the track. Host Questlove points out that it’s Southside Movement’s “I’ve Been Watching You” (embedded below),” Snoop confirms, “That’s the beat [Dr. Dre] gave me. I took it [over to] my cousin’s [in Long Beach], and I wrote the whole “‘G’ Thang” song to that. [I] came back to [SOLAR] Studios, and bust that sh*t off that for [Dr. Dre].” At 3:00 in the audio clip, Snoop demonstrates his flow in the beat. Quest’ and Phonte provide some improvised background vocals.
At the top of the clip, Questlove also points out to Snoop that Dre sampled his late parents’ (Lee and Jacqui Andrews) vocals for another element of the finished song. Congress Alley’s 1973 cut “Are You Looking” is used. Quest’ demonstrates, and Snoop knows exactly what he is referring to.
Elsewhere in the full conversation, Snoop details The D.O.C.’s input on “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” At 25:00 mins, he says that the Dallas, Texas Rap legend suggested the “like this, that, and this” famous part of the hook. Snoop says that The Chronic sessions yielded approximately 25 songs; Dre used 16. The rapper says his favorite cut that was not used is a song called “Hoe Hopper.” Snoop also says that until the late 2000s, he made approximately 15% of his tour revenue, because his ensemble stage shows employed 30 people at a time. Last month, his Doggystyle debut turned 25 years old.
The death row prisoner Kim Kardashian West pushed into the spotlight says he values her help, however adds he frantically needs her to get him the one thing he needs to prove his innocence.
California detainee Kevin Cooper’s lawyer, Norman Hile, tells TMZ Cooper knows Kim tweeted about him a couple of days back, putting his case up front with her 60 million followers, yet says he only needs one individual’s consideration, CA Governor, Jerry Brown.
Cooper needs Gov. Brown to arrange new advanced DNA testing, a request that has been disregarded so far.
Governor Brown, please add Kevin Cooper to your legacy of smart, fair and thoughtful criminal justice reforms. https://t.co/OzhZIWdxWL
In case you’re new to his story, Cooper was sentenced for 4 murders in the 1980s. He’s kept up his innocence, and even recommended he was framed. A NYT opinion piece regarding this issue supports his claims.
Kim’s tweet was an immediate request to Gov. Brown, and Hile says Cooper is trusting Kim’s army of fans development, examine his case and afterward write to Brown. As far as it matters for him, Cooper will write a thank you letter to Kim.
Kim has no association with Cooper, and she basically discovered an article about him a couple of months ago. What’s additionally fascinating is her push for his release comes ahead of Kanye West’s Thursday meeting with President Trump.
The White House says they’ll be talking prison reform, however Cooper’s case would be off the table. It’s a state matter, not government.
Suge Knight has finally struck a plea deal in his 2015 murder case.
TMZ broke the news just days before his trial was scheduled to begin. Several outlets confirmed that the infamous Hip Hop mogul was sentenced to 28 years after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Terry Carter.
Knight was facing life in jail over a savage attempt at manslaughter that occurred in a Southern California parking area. Knight was blamed for intentionally running over Carter and Cle “Bone” Sloan following a heated discussion on the set of Straight Outta Compton. The incident left Sloan hospitalized and Carter dead.
Surveillance video showed the Death Row Records CEO hitting the two victims with his vehicle; nonetheless, he initially insisted that he hit them out of self defense and was just attempting to escape from Carter and Sloan.
As indicated by TMZ, Knight will get credit for the three and half years he’s as of now served. He will likewise be set on three years of probation following his jail release.
