ALSO BY ZACK O’MALLEY GREENBURG
Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
Michael Jackson, Inc.: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Billion-Dollar Empire
Notes
This book contains insights culled from over one hundred personal interviews, augmented on occasion by secondary reference material. The bulk of the information I’ve gathered comes directly from primary sources (including the three kings, though Diddy, Dre, and Jay-Z didn’t grant me new interviews for this book); the vast majority of information was gleaned through original interviews that I conducted from 2015 to 2017 with those most familiar with the rise of the titular trio and hip-hop itself. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter accounting of the origins of the details packed into Three Kings.
Introduction
1. Dr. Dre and Tyrese Gibson, self-recorded video, location unknown, May 2014.
2. Author’s note: Diddy would be Michelangelo, Dre would be Donatello, Jay-Z would be Raphael.
3. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.
4. Fab 5 Freddy, electronic message to author, February 2017.
5. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
6. Craig Kallman, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
7. Noel Lee, interview by author, New York, New York, May 2016.
8. Richard Branson, interview by author, New York, New York, September 2011.
9. Stephen Rust, telephone interview by author, January 2017.
10. Jay-Z, conversation with author, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 2012. Author’s note: This quote was originally published in my story “Jay-Z’s Review of the Book I Wrote About Him,” Forbes, September 6, 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2012/09/06/jay-zs-review-of-the-book-i-wrote-about-him/.
11. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.
12. Author’s note: I discovered Dre’s NDA habit while seeking interviews for this book.
13. Grandwizzard Theodore, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
14. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
15. Troy Carter, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, November 2015.
16. Jay-Z, interview with Steve Forbes and Warren Buffett, September 2010. Transcript: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1011/rich-list-10-omaha-warren-buffett-jay-z-steve-forbes-summit-interview.html.
17. Tommy Tee, interview by author, Oslo, Norway, January 2017.
18. Kevin Liles, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
19. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
Chapter 1: The Originators
1. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
2. Lightnin’ Rod, telephone conversation with author, August 2016.
3. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
4. Author’s note: Shea Stadium was torn down several decades later to make room for a Citi Field parking lot.
5. Robert Caro, The Power Broker, Random House, New York (1974), p. 6.
6. District Six Museum, visit by author, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2016.
7. Robert Caro, The Power Broker, Random House, New York (1974), p. 20.
8. Jeff Chang, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Picador, New York (2005), pp. 72–76.
9. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
10. David Gest, telephone interview by author, January 2017.
11. Disaster Center via FBI UCS Annual Crime Reports, “New York Crime Rates 1960–2015,” http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm.
12. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
13. Afrika Bambaataa, interview by author, New York, New York, June 2009.
14. Dan Rys, “Afrika Bambaataa Sexual Abuse Allegations,” Billboard, May 10, 2016, http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/7364592/afrika-bambaataa-abuse-allegations.
15. Grandwizzard Theodore, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
16. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
17. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
18. Grandwizzard Theodore, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
19. Branson Belchie, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
20. Jayson Rodriguez, “Real ‘American Gangster’ Frank Lucas Talks About Hanging with Diddy’s Dad,” MTV News, November 6, 2007, http://www.mtv.com/news/1573648/real-american-gangster-frank-lucas-talks-about-hanging-with-diddys-dad-possible-sequel/.
21. Diddy, “Confessions,” Revolt TV, October 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9HNZwUiuM8.
22. Dillard Morrison Jr., interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
23. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.
24. Ibid.
25. Dan Charnas, The Big Payback, New American Library, New York (2010), p. 459.
26. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.
27. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
28. Michael Wilson, “Relics of the Bygone (and the Illegal),” New York Times, March 22, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/nyregion/numbers-runner-a-rarity-is-arrested-in-harlem.html.
29. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
30. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
31. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
32. Leland Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.
33. Darnell Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.
34. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
35. Leland Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.
36. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
37. Sean Michaels, “Sylvia Robinson, ‘Mother of Hip-Hop,’ Dies Aged Seventy-Five,” The Guardian, September 30, 2011, http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/30/sylvia-robinson-dies-aged-76.
38. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
39. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
40. Nelson George, The Death of Rhythm and Blues, Pantheon Books (1988), p. 191.
41. Leland Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.
42. Grandmaster Caz, interview by author, Bronx, New York, August 2016.
43. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
44. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), p. 4.
45. Michael D’Antonio, Forever Blue, Riverhead Books, New York (2009), pp. 239–240.
46. Demographia, “City of New York and Boroughs: Population and Population Density from 1790,” http://www.demographia.com/dm-nyc.htm.
47. Michael D’Antonio, Forever Blue, Riverhead Books, New York (2009), p. 137.
48. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), p. 13.
49. DJ Clark Kent, interview by author, Brooklyn, New York, January 2010.
50. B-High, interview for Jay-Z retrospective RD 20, Tidal, June 2016.
51. Jay-Z, interview with Steve Forbes and Warren Buffett, September 2010. Transcript: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1011/rich-list-10-omaha-warren-buffett-jay-z-steve-forbes-summit-interview.html.
52. Jonathan “Jaz-O” Burks, telephone interview by author, May 2010.
53. Sal Abbatiello, interview by author, Scarsdale, New York, January 2016.
54. Author’s note: Starski says he was rapping with Cowboy, one of the wordsmiths of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, when he first devel
oped the term “hip-hop.”
55. Sal Abbatiello, interview by author, Scarsdale, New York, January 2016.
56. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
57. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), pp. 47–49.
58. Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, Bantam Books, New York (1966), p. 12.
59. Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton, American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1993), p. 54.
60. Mike Davis, City of Quartz, Verso, London (1990), pp. 161–162.
61. Ibid., p. 7.
62. Dr. Dre, “Intro,” Compton, Aftermath/Interscope Records, August 7, 2015.
63. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
64. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), pp. 111, 116.
65. Ibid., pp. 125–127.
66. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
67. Rolling Stone staff, “N.W.A. Tell All,” Rolling Stone, August 12, 2015, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/n-w-a-tell-all-inside-the-original-gangstas-rolling-stone-cover-story-20150812.
68. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), p. 131.
69. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
70. DJ Kool Herc and Lovebug Starski, telephone conversation observed by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
71. Lovebug Starski, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
Chapter 2: Writing on the Wall
1. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
2. Joe Conzo, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
3. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
4. Author’s note: Debbie Harry actually flipped Fab’s original nickname, but he didn’t mind. “It was Fred Fab 5, then Debbie called me Fab 5 Freddy [in “Rapture”],” he told me. “I decided, wow, you know, I’m going to rock with that.”
5. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
6. Vincent Canby, “Wild Style, Rapping, and Painting Graffiti,” New York Times, March 18, 1983, http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0DE0DA103BF93BA25750C0A965948260.
7. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
8. Ibid.
9. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
10. Scorpio, telephone interview by author, November 2015.
11. Leland Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.
12. Scorpio, telephone interview by author, November 2015.
13. Harry Allen, “Time Bomb,” Vibe, December 1994, pp. 71–72.
14. Fab 5 Freddy, electronic message to author, January 2017.
15. Nelson George, Hip-Hop America, Penguin Books, New York (1998), p. 40.
16. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), p. 12.
17. Jaz-O, telephone interview by author, May 2010.
18. DeHaven Irby, interview by author, Brooklyn, New York, January 2010.
19. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), p. 15.
20. Jaz-O, telephone interview by author, May 2010.
21. MC Serch, telephone interview by author, December 2009.
22. Jaz-O, telephone interview by author, May 2010.
23. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), p. 18.
24. Charles Stettler, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
25. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
26. Charles Stettler, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
27. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
28. Author’s note: While performing with the Cru, Dre occasionally donned a white sequined doctor’s outfit. I am told that real doctors don’t do this.
29. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
30. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 55.
31. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
32. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 75.
33. Ibid., pp. 104–106.
34. Kendrick Lamar, “Return of the Riot Squad,” Billboard, August 22, 2015.
35. Newsweek staff, “Number One with a Bullet,” Newsweek, June 30, 1991, http://www.newsweek.com/number-one-bullet-204074.
36. Jonathan Gold, “Rolling in Compton with Snoop and Dre,” republished in Rolling Stone, October 29, 2010, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rolling-in-compton-with-snoop-and-dre-20101029.
37. Ben Westhoff, Original Gangstas, Hachette Books, New York (2016), p. 86.
38. Frank Owen, “Hanging Tough,” Spin, April 1990, p, 32.
39. Ronald J. Ostrow, “Casual Drug Users Should Be Shot, Gates Says,” Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1990, http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-06/news/mn-983_1_casual-drug-users.
40. Milt Ahlerich, FBI letter to Priority Records, August 1, 1989.
41. Julie Hinds, “The Famous 1989 Detroit Concert by N.W.A., Then and Now,” Detroit Free Press, August 13, 2015, http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/movies/2015/08/13/straight-outta-compton-movie-detroit-ice-cube-joe-louis-arena/31496317/.
42. Steve Hochman, “Compton Rappers Versus the Letter of the Law,” Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1989, http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-05/entertainment/ca-1046_1_law-enforcement/.
43. Frank Owen, “Hanging Tough,” Spin, April 1990, p. 32.
44. Alonzo Williams, telephone interview by author, January 2016.
45. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
46. Russell Simmons, electronic message to author, July 2013.
47. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
48. Ibid.
49. Author’s note: “LL Cool J” is short for “Ladies love cool James,” which is a lot cooler than his real name: James Todd Smith.
50. MC Serch, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
51. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
52. MC Serch, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
53. Walter Yetnikoff, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2013.
54. Dr. Dre, interview with Fab 5 Freddy, Yo! MTV Raps, 1991, https://youtu.be/aRDBBO1Z4g0?list=PLiy6fM6jYdYHVXo76SuXVQFcfKT6TaZ_B.
55. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, Brooklyn, New York, January 2013; electronic message to author, February 2017.
56. MC Serch, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
57. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.
58. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
59. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
60. Author’s note: For a party promoter, going to clubs probably still counts as work, depending on how “freaky” they are.
61. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
62. Scott Poulson-Bryant, “Puff Daddy,” Vibe, February 1993, p. 90.
63. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
64. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
Chapter 3: Bad Boys
1. Branson Belchie, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
2. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.
3. Mary J. Blige, monologue at concert observed by author, Brooklyn, New York, May 2016.
4. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November
2016.
5. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.
6. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
7. Robert D. McFadden, “Stampede at City College,” New York Times, December 30, 1991, http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/30/nyregion/stampede-at-city-college-inquiries-begin-over-city-college-deaths.html.
8. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
9. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.
10. DJ Clark Kent, interview by author, Brooklyn, New York, January 2010.
11. Branson Belchie, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
12. Too Short, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, December 2016.
13. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
14. MC Serch, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
15. Lucas G., “The Complete List of Platinum Hip-Hop Albums by Year,” DJ Booth, October 20, 2015, http://djbooth.net/news/entry/2015-10-20-platinum-hip-hop-albums-year-breakdown.
16. Dan Charnas, The Big Payback, New American Library, New York (2010), p. 558.
17. Gary Bongiovanni, telephone interview by author, October 2015.
18. Kevin Morrow, telephone interview by author, October 2015.
19. Milton Mollen, “A Failure of Responsibility,” report to Mayor David N. Dinkins on the December 28, 1991, tragedy at City College of New York, January 1992.
20. John Sullivan, “Rap Producer Testifies on Fatal Stampede at City College,” New York Times, March 24, 1998, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/24/nyregion/rap-producer-testifies-on-fatal-stampede-at-city-college.html.
21. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.
22. Diddy, monologue at concert observed by author, Brooklyn, New York, May 2016.
23. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.
24. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.
25. Branson Belchie, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.
26. Stephen Holden, “Billboard’s New Charts Roil the Record Industry,” New York Times, June 22, 1991, http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/22/arts/billboard-s-new-charts-roil-the-record-industry.html.
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