Businessman and former music executive Suge Knight was a very ill-tempered man. Notorious for his feuds and antics, the now-incarcerated Knight was a volatile figure. In one instance, his temper turned towards Def Jam label executive Lyor Cohen, causing him to commit a disgusting act.
During an appearance on the Boss Talk 101 podcast, former Death Row Records executive Reggie Wright Jr explained that in 1998, when Snoop Dogg was leaving Death Row, there was a bidding war between Suge Knight and Lyor Cohen for the Doggystyle rapper and before his departure, Cohen visited Suge in jail.
Recalling the story, Wright told the host E CEO, “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. [Then] Lyor goes back to his board because he wasn’t owning Def Jam outright. Colombia was owning Def Jam at the time. It was in partnership.”
Following Cohen’s meeting with Colombia, Wright drove Cohen to see Knight in jail for a second time, where they spoke about the music climate at the time, with Jay-Z, Redman, and Method Man all doing well at Def Jam.
Detailing Cohen’s subsequent offer, Wright continued, “He comes and offers Suge $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’s face.”
Following Knight’s release, Wright explained how a meeting occurred with the Priority Records Louisiana imprint No Limit, founded by Master P. He further detailed that negotiations between Suge, Turner, Master P, and Wright were successful but left the ‘Gin & Juice’ artist annoyed with how much Knight benefitted from the deal.
Wright told E CEO the handover deal from Death Row to No Limit is what drove the Long Beach star to name his fifth studio album, Tha Last Meal, concluding, “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.”
You can listen to Reggie Wright’s interview with Boss Talk 101 in the video below.
