They weren’t just scared of Suge Knight; they were terrified. I mean, absolutely terrified—to death. Suge Knight’s name and presence were synonymous with intimidation and crippling fear, which he used to dominate the rap game back in the day. Everyone knew his name meant trouble, no matter who you were, what you achieved, or how much security you had. Sometimes, if you were up and coming, he would just show up, and you’d have to do everything he said.
That’s exactly what he tried with 50 Cent. Unfortunately for Suge, his attempt to intimidate 50 backfired. Now, 50 is finally revealing what happened that day and how Suge ran like a rat. We all know that 50 has never been one to back down from anything, and even when he was up and coming, he was the same. This wouldn’t surprise many. The man was shot nine times and somehow survived. Why would he ever be intimidated? He showed up to any club, any video shoot.
When Suge was outside, everybody ran. Everybody went crazy. Meanwhile, I was in front of the camera like this: if you scroll through Suge Knight’s Wikipedia page, he is described as a former record executive and convicted felon in the first few sentences. His life in the music business was shrouded in various criminal activities over the years. Suge started his career as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for celebrities like Bobby Brown, giving him access to the inner workings of the music industry. Eventually, he decided he wanted a piece of the action and began his music publishing company in 1989.
Suge was infamous for his massive ego and refusal to take no for an answer. If you didn’t agree with him, you had to deal with the consequences. A perfect example of Suge’s ruthless business style was his encounter with Vanilla Ice, a big name in the ’90s music scene. Mario Johnson, one of Suge’s clients, co-wrote Vanilla Ice’s hit song “Ice Ice Baby,” and Suge believed Johnson deserved a significant share of the profits. So, he paid a visit to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where Vanilla Ice was staying. According to sources, Suge showed up with six men who roughed up Vanilla Ice’s team. Then, he took Vanilla Ice to the balcony and threatened to throw him off the 15th floor. “Suge took me out on the balcony and started talking to me personally. On the balcony, high above, like 15 floors up. He had me look over the edge, showed me how high I was up there. You scared? I needed to wear a diaper on that day,” Vanilla Ice later recalled.
As you might imagine, Vanilla Ice ended up signing over part of the publishing rights and paying royalties, which he said were worth over $4 million at the time. “So you signed away part of your publishing which was worth around $4 million. Um, now at the time, at the time, more now. And this money actually was the seed money that launched Death Row Records,” he admitted.
Eventually, Suge got in touch with members of N.W.A., one of the top rap groups at the time. He heard that Dr. Dre, one of the members, wanted to leave the group and the label. Seeing a big opportunity, Suge did what he did best—made things happen his way. In an interview, Mob James, a close ally of Suge Knight, described being there the day Suge went to the Ruthless Records office to tear up Dr. Dre’s and the D.O.C.’s contracts and even managed to get a check from Jerry Heller, N.W.A.’s manager. “We went in there, Suge said, ‘I need to get a contract.’ Okay, so this is Ruthless Records’ office, this is Ruthless, right? Yeah, their office, and Jerry Heller was there. Jerry Heller was there. So, but Jerry’s in the room with this big Suge Knight guy, just them two. Suge got a check out of him, and he got Dre. He got their contracts out of Jerry’s cabinet or whatever the case would be. Eazy-E couldn’t get it,” he recounted.
After successfully freeing Dr. Dre and the D.O.C. from their contracts with their label, Suge Knight’s reputation in the music industry soared. He became known as the man who could get things done, no matter the cost. In 1991, Suge, along with D.O.C. and Dre, co-founded Death Row Records. Suge confidently declared, “Death Row can be bigger than Sony or Warner Brothers. Death Row is going to be the biggest record company there is.” His ambitious plan was to make a lasting impact on the hip-hop industry, a goal he largely achieved. Shortly after the label was established, they secured a distribution deal with Interscope Records, creating a label that would shake the hip-hop industry to its core. Death Row released some of the most iconic albums in rap history, becoming an essential part of the story of gangsta rap’s evolution.
Under Death Row Records, Dr. Dre released his groundbreaking album “The Chronic” in 1992, which became an instant classic. Just a year later, Snoop Dogg, another artist from Death Row, released his debut album “Doggystyle,” which also became an instant classic, debuting at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The hits kept coming. In 1995, Suge made a deal with Tupac Shakur, who had served eight months of a three-year sentence. Suge paid Tupac’s $1.4 million bail bond, and in return, Tupac signed with Death Row Records. As soon as he was released, Tupac dropped the legendary album “All Eyez On Me” in 1996, which also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album, a double-disc with 27 tracks, became one of the most influential in hip-hop history, selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.
In just six years, Death Row Records achieved incredible success, reportedly generating at least $100 million annually. This rapid rise significantly increased Suge’s influence, making him a powerful figure in the industry. However, this power came with increasing violence. Suge began facing serious legal issues, including a five-year probation sentence in 1995 for an incident involving the Stanley Brothers three years earlier. He also frequently criticized other label executives. Suge famously said, “Any talk, they want to be an artist and want to stay a star, don’t want to have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the video, all on the record, dancing… Death Row.”
Suge Knight and Death Row Records were notorious for their aggressive image. Rumors swirled that Suge was associated with the Mob Piru Bloods, and he reportedly hired many gang members to work at Death Row. This hostile environment led Dr. Dre to leave the label in 1996 over a contract dispute. Dre then founded Aftermath Entertainment and signed Eminem, who would go on to become the best-selling hip-hop artist of all time. Under Dre’s leadership, Aftermath quickly rose to rival Death Row Records.
Aftermath’s success skyrocketed when Eminem discovered Curtis James Jackson, known as 50 Cent, from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. Eminem was blown away by 50 Cent’s “Guess Who’s Back” mixtape and signed him to Shady Records, a subsidiary of Aftermath.
“My manager gave me a copy of ‘Guess Who’s Back.’ Within the first couple of songs, I was like, ‘Yo, he’s back.’ At that point in time, I think we had found out that he wasn’t signed yet, so we had a chance to maybe do something with him. Let’s try to see what’s up. So I think the first time I met 50 was at a release party. We met him, I think we talked in the back room, right? Every song he was doing was so crazy, we couldn’t, there was nothing to get rid of. There was nothing that we could even say, ‘Oh, that would be cool for a mixtape.’ I don’t know if we really set out to create anything. It was more, ‘Let’s just make the best music that we can make.’ ‘Patiently Waiting’ was one of the first beats I sent to 50,” Eminem recounted.
Once signed, 50 Cent didn’t waste any time making his mark. He quickly established himself as one of the biggest artists of the early 2000s. His album “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and has been certified nine times platinum, making it one of the most successful rap albums ever. As 50 Cent’s fame grew, Suge Knight reportedly paid him a visit. Some say Suge wanted to recruit 50 Cent, while others believe he intended to send a warning to Dr. Dre, similar to his infamous confrontation with Vanilla Ice.
While filming the iconic “In Da Club” music video, 50 Cent had a major run-in with Suge Knight. Suge showed up at the shoot in his typical fashion, bringing along a crew of about 30 people. This caused chaos, with everyone scrambling because they had no idea what might happen next. But 50 Cent didn’t flinch. He stood firm, face to face with Suge, who was notorious on the West Coast. Some people even said that 50 was armed and ready for anything. Suge was shocked at how intimidating and fearless 50 was. Seeing 50 standing there, not backing down and even taunting him, Suge realized this was someone he shouldn’t mess with.
“He showed up to the ‘In Da Club’ video shoot. Suge was outside, P was outside. Everyone was running, dropping stuff, going crazy. I was standing in front of the camera,” 50 Cent remembered.
This turned out to be the last time 50 Cent and Suge encountered each other. Suge is now serving a 28-year sentence for a hit-and-run. Even from prison, where he hosts a podcast, Suge talks about various people and their business but never mentions 50 Cent.
Fans on the internet had their own takes on Suge’s reaction to 50 Cent: “50 was a man. He wasn’t about to let another man punk him. He stood his ground like he was supposed to,” one fan wrote. Another said, “Suge wasn’t a tough guy. He was just a coward with size and backup.”