American rapper Warren G was recently interviewed by Big Boy, where the pair discussed why he wasn’t signed to Death Row Records.
Despite being the stepbrother of legendary musician Dr Dre, who co-founded the independent record label with other rappers such as Suge Knight, Warren G was never signed to it. Talking to Big Boy, he suggested this might have been because he “used to bump heads a little bit” with Knight.
After discussing some of the issues he and Knight had with each other, Warren G – real name Warren Griffin III – detailed his time working on Dr Dre’s The Chronic. He claimed there was a moment when he realised that, regardless of his contributions, Death Row Records would not take him on.
He explained, “When I knew I wasn’t a part of it is when we were supposed to go out for the first tour and everybody had everything in order and I didn’t have nothing. I didn’t have no ticket, no information, no nothing. So, I packed like I’m going. I’m like, ‘Shit I guess they gonna get my shit when I get to the airport.’ Got to the airport, wasn’t nothing happening. They had went and did they thing and I was pretty butthurt.”
“When I had a chance, I asked Dre. I was like, ‘Man, what’s up? What’s going on?’ And he just was like, ‘You gotta be your own man.’ Huh? I don’t know what to do,'” added Griffin.
Eventually, Griffin signed to Def Jam Recordings, leading to an incredibly successful rap career.
