Suge Knight has claimed that he once put hands on Jermaine Dupri over a financial dispute, but has come to regret his actions.
Speaking to The Art of Dialogue from behind bars, the Death Row Records co-founder claimed that he slapped Dupri in 2005 over money owed involving Bow Wow‘s contract.
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“The Lord delivered Jermaine Dupri to me,” he said. “As I see Jermaine Dupri and he sees me, his eyes are as big as a muthafucka. I say, ‘Hey, what’s happening with my bread you owe me for Lil Bow Wow? You know he was signed to me.’ He still is.
“He starts beating around the bush, so I say, ‘I’ma tell you one more time, what’s brackin’?!’ It wasn’t one of those where somebody gets slapped so hard they slide down the stret, but it was something that made you get your attention.”
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Knight claims that the only reason he didn’t “beat the shit out of Jermaine Dupri” is because the So So Def mogul got Joe Jackson, the father of Michael and JD’s then-girlfriend Janet, involved.
“JD’s one of the smartest little muthafuckas around. He called Joe Jackson and put him on speaker [laughs],” he recalled. “And he tells Joe Jackson, ‘Help! Suge is right in front of me, mad.’ Joe didn’t know he was on speaker and [said], ‘I know Suge. Suge is a friend of mine.’
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“I said, ‘What’s up, Mr. Jackson?’ And he started laughing. Then Jermaine Dupri was like, ‘Suge ’bout to get me!’ Joe was like, ‘Nah, man. Me and Suge go way back. Suge, give me your word right now that you’re not gonna beat the shit out of Jermaine Dupri. You know he’s with Janet.’ So I said, ‘Alright.'”
Despite agreeing not to hurt Dupri, Suge said that he still poured a cup of coffee over the producer’s head, angering Joe Jackson who was still on the line.
“I could hear Joe Jackson shouting. He was like, ‘Man, what are you doing? You gave me your word!'” he continued. “I said, ‘You know what, Joe? I’m outta here, Mr. Jackson.’ Never talked about it, never mentioned it, never played games about it.”
Knight then issued an apology of sorts to Dupri and other diminutive men he has stepped to over the years: “I shouldn’t have done that to Jermaine Dupri, even though he did something scandalous. I gotta leave the little people alone, man. Jermaine, Ray J, Ray J’s crew — they all the same height.
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“I apologize to all the short men that I offended. I’ve never apologized to anybody, but I want to apologize to the short people. I hope my apology is accepted.”
Suge Knight is also alleged to have slapped Jermaine Dupri 10 years earlier on the night Big Jake Robles, a friend and bodyguard of Knight’s, was killed.
In his own interview with The Art of Dialogue, Diddy‘s former bodyguard Gene Deal detailed the alleged incident, which went down at JD’s birthday party in Atlanta in 1995.
“That night at that party, he was in the fucking upstairs with Dallas Austin because Suge had slapped the shit outta him, too,” he said.
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The story was later backed up by ex-Bad Boy rapper Mark Curry, but Dupri denied it ever happened.
“Yo! Greg and @markcurry Is y’all n-ggas must be making a comic book? How much dey paid y’all to make that shit up? [laughing face emojis],” he wrote on social media.