Links

The True History Behind The Million Dollar Empire

Deathrow Records was one of the most powerful rap record labels of all time. The powerhouse empire was run and funded by Marion ''Suge'' Knight a 250 pound ex football player. He was the most feared and imtimidating executive in the music business and he was not the kind of person u wanted to fuck with. Everything started when Suges career for the L.A Rams ended abruptly, he knew that there was money to be made in the music business so he set himself goals to achieve what not many people from his neighbourhood of Compton ever did - success. For a few months Suge acted as a bodyguard for The Doc, while he was partying Suge found ways of making contacts in the music industry. Soon Suge stopped bodyguarding and set plans for his new record label, he was first going to call it Funky Enough. But after a few months the record label collapsed because a supposed partner backed out and Suge was made to vacate the Beverlly Hills office.

Despite Funky Enough folding Suge was more determined than ever to own a record powerful record label. As Easy E proved, there's too much money in gangsta rap to walk away. As Suge was close with The Doc and The Doc had close contacts with N.W.A's producer Dr Dre, Suge knew that they were both having problems with Ruthless Records (Eazy E's record label.) Suge knew that it was going to be hard to get them out of their contracts so all he had to do was be patient and wait for the right time to strike.

Within a few weeks disaster had struck. The Doc was driving home from a recording studio when he was involved in a car crash, he woke up in hospital unable to speak. His vocal chords had been damaged and it was very unlikely he would be able to rap again. Suge spent weeks visiting him in hospital and chauffering The Docs mother back and fourth. While doing this Suge was still trying to persuede The Doc to leave Ruthless but The Doc kept refusing due to contracts. But as weeks went by and not hearing anything from Ruthless The Doc started to get worried. He knew he'd never be able to have the skills as he did before but as Suge was poisoning his mind with anti Ruthless stuff he soon agreed to have Suge represent him unofficially. As soon as The Doc was out of hospital and recovered, Suge set up autograph signings which earned The Doc thousands of dollars. The Doc was getting to see how much better off he would be signing with Death Row than staying with Ruthless (who did not seem interested in what he did anymore) so he was pretty sure he wanted to leave.

As The Doc left Ruthless, the music group N.W.A started racketing with tension at the Ruthless camp. O'shea ''Ice Cube'' Jackson was feeling underpaid. Cube was the main writer and had only been paid a mere $32, 700 for work on two albums which had sales of 3 million, meanwhile Jerry Heller (Ruthless's business manager) had pocketed $650, 000. Cube asked Dre if he was happy with Ruthless and Dre replied ''Nah man, my shit is shaky too.'' A few weeks later N.W.A held a meeting at Dres house, while everyone headed to the recording studio upstairs Cube remained downstairs and announced he was leaving the group. Cube tried telling everyone they were being conned out of thousands but none of them followed him.

1991

The Doc soon began helping N.W.A write more tracks for their new album and because of the meetings Suge became close with Dre and advised him to leave Ruthless. Dre asked Suge to check Michel'le's (Dres girlfriend) and his contracts, they realised they were getting bad deals and wanted out of Ruthless. So Suge set himself out to get them out of their deals. As Jerry Heller was the business manager of Ruthless he was the one Suge had to convince to let them leave. Suge tried to imtimidate him, pretty easyily done because Heller was a 50yrs, white with grey hair and no match for Suge. Heller admitted that Suge did a good job of frightening employees at Ruthless. Weeks later, Suge was still trying to imtimidate Heller when he broke into Ruthless's offices and stole the documents which stated how much everyone was getting paid. Cube was right, they were getting taken for a ride.

In April 1991 Eazy E recieved a call from Dre inviting him to meet him to disscuss their differences, Dre implied if they did he would start producing for Ruthless again. The invitation seen by Easy as a good one was accepted. Easy arrived early without security, he noticed that Dre wasn't there but Suge was, with two armed thugs.

Suge explained that there were people unhappy with Ruthless Records, they were :- Above The Law, Michel'le, Kokane, The Doc and Dre. They all wanted to leave and Suge explained that they had Jerry Heller held hostage in a van and they knew where Easy's mother lived. Eazy sat at the table listening when Suges people entered with lead pipes. Eazy figured he's either have to sign the papers, get his ass kicked or fight them. Easy decided to sign the papers.
Soon Dre, The Doc and Future Shock's (Later to be known as DeathRow) newest talent Snoop Doggy Dogg began working on the soundtrack for Deep Cover. They spent every spare second recording and writing as the record label wasn't quite in the position to be releasing albums. For producers Suge had Dre, Chocolate and newcomers Rhythm D and DJ Unknown, as talent Suge was auditioning for female rnb singers like Lydia Harris.

The record label was still financially short of cash and needed extra partners so David Kenner (Future Shock's lawyer) introduced Suge to his client Harry O (Lydia Harris's imprisoned husband) who also wanted to form a record label. Unlike Suge, Harry had millions of dollars to invest. Even behind bars Harry was a blood member known throughout L.A.

Even though they had met no deal was made yet. Suge and Dre were looking for new acts for Future Shock and Harry urged his wife to find acts for their future record company Death Row Records. But soon David Kenner set up an offical meeting between Suge, Dre and Harry O. According to Harris each party would hold a 50% share in the new company and it would remain what Harry and Lydia Harris had been calling it - Death Row Records! They all met again a few months later and Kenner produced paperwork binding them all to the deal. They all would be equal partners in GFE (Godfather Entertainment) which would be a parent company to Death Row Records. Suge would actually run the business and Harry would provide the 1.5 million dollars it required to start up. Kenner, Harris claimed would handle the paperwork and work at creating more new business.

By the end of the year though Dre gave Harris an idea of what to expect from the people he had thought were his newest business partners. Dre credited Suge with coming up with the idea for Deathrow and asserted that they were along equal partners. ''We like brothers n shit'' said Dre.

About the label changing its name from Futureshock to Death Row, the labels rnb siren Jewel now claimed ''This guy called DJ Unknown came up with the name Def Road.'' Dre asked what I thought of the name and I was like ''Nah, Death Row nigga, if anything, cause all of us got (court) cases.'' Harry O was gradually being pushed out of the picture.

In February 1992 Deathrow and GF Entertainment would be publically unveiled to six hundred guests at a party held at a resturant in Beverlly Hills. The partys invitations were designed so that they looked like court summons. Many of the labels new acts preformed live..
The DeathRow empire was born and the realness of gangsta rap was about to become reality in more ways than one.