Snoop Dogg may be one of the most easy going rappers in Hip-Hop, but the West Coast rhymeslinger exposed a different persona years ago while contemplating the death of his former Death Row Records boss Marion “Suge” Knight.
In an upcoming interview with Rolling Stone, Snoop traced the source of his frustration to when Dr. Dre left Death Row to start his Aftermath record label.
That move, coupled with Snoop’s defection to Master P’s No Limit Records, resulted in bad blood with Knight, who was serving a five year jail sentence at the time.
“The n***a threatened my life when he was in jail,” Snoop revealed to the publication. “N***as tried to get at me at concerts; they put my address on a tape. He was gonna give a n***a a Benz if a n***a cut my hair. All kinda f****n’ with me.”
Despite the attempts, Snoop had a plan for shifting the momentum of the beef after Knight was released from jail in 2001.
“I had to let him know I didn’t give a f***k about none of that fake-a** power s**t you was supposed to be on, and all this money and all these Bloods you hidin’ behind,” the rapper explained. “I felt like challenging him would either expose his whole card or I would have to kill the n***a. And I was ready to do it. That’s where I was with it. So when he got out of jail, I’m f****n’ with him.”
The conflict escalated further with the release of the song “Pimp Slapp’d,” a diss song aimed at Knight.
“I stepped to him [four years ago] at the BET Awards with my n***as, and he was more scared than a motherf****r,” Snoop said. “That was the scenario when n***as knew the balance had shifted. That’s when everybody felt like the floodgates was open on Suge. Snoop dissed him in public, and he didn’t do nothing.”
Despite Knights fearsome reputation, Snoop brushed off any fear of retribution from Knight.
“Never was afraid of him,” the lyricist told Rolling Stone. “I was afraid I was gonna have to kill him. That’s what I was afraid of.”
Snoop credited his friend and spiritual advisor Bishop Don Magic Juan, for offering a peaceful alternative in the form of discussion.
“Bishop kept saying, ‘I don’t like that situation. Y’all need to talk.'” the rapper said. “I was like, ‘F talking. F*** that n***a.’ But after hearin’ him say it so many times, it got to the point where I was on peace, like, ‘OK, I ain’t tryin to f*** cuz up.’ A lot of n***as put fuel to the fire. Bishop put water. It takes a grown man to do that.”
The full Snoop Dogg cover story can be found in the new issue of Rolling Stone, which hits newstands Friday (Dec. 1).
