Suge Knight allegedly spat in Lyor Cohen’s face during a prison visit over negotiations around Snoop Dogg‘s record deal.
During a recent appearance on the Boss Talk 101 podcast, Death Row Records’ former executive, Reggie Wright Jr., told a story about the time Cohen visited Suge in prison over business plans, but the conversation didn’t go down well.
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Lyor Cohen was co-president of Island Def Jam Music Group at the time and wanted to bring Snoop Dogg over to the label.
“Lyor Cohen comes up there,” Reggie began. “There’s a bidding war going on for Snoop with Def Jam. So at this time, Suge tells Lyor a crazy number like $13 million. $13 million if he wants Snoop over there.
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“Lyor goes back to his board because he wasn’t owning Def Jam outright. Columbia was owning Def Jam at the time, it was in partnership.
“Lyor comes back and I drive him up there, and I remember me and him listening to DMX because he’s telling me how this dude gon’ save rap and all that. Me and Lyor had a great relationship.
“Montell Jordan, he was mad at Montell at the time. Him and Warren G had just did saving them, but now JAY-Z and Redman and Method Man and all them are starting to do okay. Def Jam bubbling again.”
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Wright Jr. continued: “He comes and offers Suge $7 million. ‘Tell Lyor the most that I can get for Snoop is $7 million.’ Suge never really liked the East Coasters or labels or whatever. And I’m like, ‘Okay, Lyor, yeah, we got a deal.’
“Suge goes and tells Lyor, ‘No.’ Spits in Lyor face. Spits in his face, because of however the conversation went. At the prison. At San Luis Obispo.”
Reggie Wright Jr. went on to talk about another meeting with Priority Records founder Bryan Turner and Master P, whose No Limit Records Snoop Dogg signed to in 1998 after departing Death Row.
“So now I go back and tell Bryan Turner,” Reggie recalled. “He said, ‘Get Bryan up here.’ Bryan Turner, the owner of Priority, comes up there. Here’s where n-ggas get mad at me from the South.
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“I remember, swear to God on my momma, he sat right there and said, ‘You know, Reg keep telling me, you got some country muthafucka, that muthafucka just shot me $100,000 for Snoop being on the song.’
“‘Cause you know that song Snoop got on? We pushed up on Bryan and he got us $100,000. And [Master] P cut the check and sent it to us, $100,000. Out of his general fund, I still remember that. ‘Cause I was laughing, I said, ‘Lyor, that n-gga, he just banged on us.
“‘He ain’t even sent it from a quota. He just sent it from a general fund,’ which is like his petty account cash check. ‘Cause they were winning, they were hitting ’97/’98, No Limit was doing their thing.
“So he goes, ‘You know that country muthafucka you always talking about it? Build at the heel and I’ll do you a favor, Bryan. You give me four-and-a-half million dollars and a seven percent override, you can have Snoop for three albums.
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“‘You can have those remaining albums outright. Deal made. Four-and-a-half million dollars, seven percent override on Snoop’s remaining…’
“That’s why he called that album Tha Last Meal, because he was telling Suge, ‘This the last time you gon’ eat off me.’ We ain’t met with P and them since. Ever. That’s how the deal went.”
