Suge Knight and Warren G had a tenuous relationship during the 1990s when he ran the Death Row empire. Knight was a very ill-tempered man who was notorious for his feuds and antics. Even while he was riding high in the music industry, Knight was a volatile figure.
Warren G (real name Warren Griffin), Dr. Dre’s step-brother, had a front-row seat to the Death Row show during the 1990s. However, although he was never officially signed to the infamous label, he kept close ties to its artists and had regular run-ins with Suge Knight.
The Death Row co-founder had the opportunity to sign Warren G in the early stages of his career. However, with distractions such as the release of The Chronic and other seminal projects, he never followed through.
Unfortunately, Knight’s ego as the kingpin of the West Coast led him to believe that he was in control of all the talent in California, especially within LA and Long Beach. However, that was not the case, and Warren G proved that.
During an appearance on The Gauds Show, Griffin explained how when he and Nate Dogg signed with Violator Records and released their hit album, Regulate… G Funk Era, Knight wanted a slice of the action but couldn’t get any as he had passed on the opportunity to sign them when he had the chance.
The ‘So Many Ways’ elaborated on how Knight lost his head and approached him and Nate Dogg to try and use them when they were successful, explaining, “Them n*ggas was trippin’ and I was trippin’ too! It wasn’t like I was gonna a let them n*ggas just come and try to get off on me or try to do whatever they wanted to do. N*gga, I had ‘Regulators!’ I didn’t want it to be like that.”
Although Warren G did tracks here and there with Death Row artists, Knight never benefited from the success of Regulate… G Funk Era or any 213 material Griffin released with Snoop and Nate Dogg. It was enough to drive the musical mogul wild.
The pair’s relationship only went downhill from there, and soon Griffin was looking at Death Row contracts and Knight’s business practices to look out for his childhood friends Snoop Dogg and Daz Dillinger.
You can listen to Warren G speak about Suge Knight’s envy in the video below.