3 Kings

by Zack O'Malley Greenburg

  27. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 23.

  28. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), p. 161.

  29. Jeff Rosenthal, “Suge Knight’s Run-ins with the Law: A Timeline,” February 5, 2015, Vulture, http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/suge-knights-run-ins-with-the-law-a-timeline.html.

  30. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 16.

  31. Electronic message from author to Knight’s attorney Thaddeus Culpepper, October 30, 2016; phone message left by author for Knight’s attorney Stephen Schwartz, November 1, 2016.

  32. Amanda Silverman, electronic message to author, September 2016.

  33. VH1, “Dr. Dre,” Behind the Music, November 21, 1999.

  34. Natalie Weiner, “Dee Barnes, Michel’le Respond to Dr. Dre’s Apology for Beating Women,” Billboard, August 25, 2015, http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6677544/dr-dre-apology-dee-barnes-michelle.

  35. Dr. Dre and Death Row, agreement with Interscope, Los Angeles, California, November 1, 1992.

  36. Ben Westhoff, Original Gangstas, Hachette Books, New York (2016), pp. 188–194, 229.

  37. David Fricke, “Jimmy Iovine: The Man with the Magic Ears,” Rolling Stone, April 12, 2012, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jimmy-iovine-the-man-with-the-magic-ears-20120412.

  38. Ibid.

  39. Jonathan Gold, “The Rap’s Flat, but Ya Can’t Beat the Beat,” Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1992, http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-27/entertainment/ca-4829_1_dirty-beats.

  40. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  41. Robert Hilburn, “The Dr.’s Always In,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2007, http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-dre23sep23-story.html.

  42. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  43. Author’s note: If you had to name one album that bridged the gap between 1980s old-school hip-hop and its glossier late-1990s cousin, 1993’s Doggystyle might be it. For example, in “Lodi Dodi,” Snoop and Dre essentially cover Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh’s 1985 song “La Di Da Di,” including the line “Ricky Ricky Ricky, can’t you see, somehow your words just hypnotize me,” which became the underpinning for the Diddy-helmed 1997 hit “Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G. Doggystyle is also a sampling nexus of the three kings: in addition to the aforementioned Diddy pick, Jay-Z borrowed Snoop’s line “He is I, and I am him” from “Who Am I?” and inserted it into his 2001 track “Jigga That Nigga.” Dre, meanwhile, sampled himself sampling George Clinton when he put the “Atomic Dog” bass line he used in “Who Am I?” into Tupac’s 1996 smash “Can’t C Me.”

  44. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  45. Kenny Meiselas, telephone conversation with author, February 2017.

  46. Author’s note: In this case, “shotty” means “shotgun.” Biggie is the only person I know of who kept one by his toilet.

  47. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  48. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  49. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  50. Craigh Barboza, “‘Ain’t Nothing Shine Brighter Than That Bad Boy’: The Inside Story of Hip-Hop’s Most Notorious Label,” GQ, September 8, 2014, http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201409/bad-boy-hip-hop.

  51. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  52. Afrika Bambaataa, interview by author, New York, New York, June 2009.

  53. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  54. Ibid.

  55. Jonathan Mannion, interview by author, New York, New York, February 2016.

  56. DJ Clark Kent, interview by author, Brooklyn, New York, January 2010.

  57. MC Serch, telephone interview by author, December 2009.

  58. MC Serch, electronic message to author, August 2010.

  59. Touré, telephone interview by author, December 2009.

  60. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  61. Branson Belchie, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  Chapter 4: Studio Gangsters

  1. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  2. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 50.

  3. Rachael Levy, “Former Coaches Portray Knight in Positive Light,” Las Vegas Sun, September 10, 1996, https://lasvegussun.com/news/1996/sep/10/former-coaches-portray-knight-in-positive-light/.

  4. Donald David, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.

  5. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  6. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), p. 165.

  7. Jerry Heller, Ruthless, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, New York (2006), p. 125.

  8. VH1, “Dr. Dre,” Behind the Music, November 21, 1999.

  9. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  10. Brian Ross, “When Suge Knight Left Vanilla Ice ‘Very Scared,’” ABC News, November 6, 1996.

  11. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  12. Emil Wilbekin, “The Return of the Uptown Girl,” Vibe, February 1995, p. 42.

  13. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  14. Suge Knight, acceptance speech at Source Awards, August 3, 1995.

  15. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  16. Erik Barnouw, The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting in the United States: Volume II—1933 to 1953, New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.

  17. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  18. Diddy, interview on “The Breakfast Club,” May 20, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnwoaAD1x4A.

  19. Michael Daly, “Improbable Bond,” the Daily Beast, July 29, 2014, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/28/tupac-shakur-s-race-killer-prison-pal-talks.html.

  20. Bruce Williams, Rollin’ with Dre, Ballantine Books, New York (2008), p. 51.

  21. Jeff Weiss, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, February 2017.

  22. Donald David, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.

  23. Tayannah Lee McQuillar and Fred L. Johnson, Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2010), pp. 33–34.

  24. Jeff Weiss, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, February 2017.

  25. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  26. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  27. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  28. Salvador Contes, telephone interview by author, December 2009.

  29. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  30. Jeff Weiss and Evan McGarvey, 2pac vs. Biggie, Voyageur Press, Minneapolis (2013), pp. 119–120.

  31. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  32. Bruce Williams, Rollin’ with Dre, Ballantine Books, New York (2008), pp. 60–63.

  33. Author’s note: Tupac insisted that “THUG LIFE” was an acronym for “the hate U give little infants fucks everyone.”

  34. Lawrence Crook III, “Tupac’s Hummer Sells for More Than $300K,” CNN, May 20, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/entertainment/tupac-shakur-hummer-auction/.

  35. Vibe staff, “Biggie and Puffy Break Their Silence,” Vibe, September 1996, http://www.vibe.com/2012/03/biggie-puffy-break-their-silence-95-vibe-cover-story/.

  36. Kevin Morrow, telephone interview by author, Oc
tober 2015.

  37. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  38. Ben Westhoff, Original Gangstas, Hachette Books, New York (2016), p. 313.

  39. Brian Hiatt, “Fourteen Things We Learned About Straight Outta Compton,” Rolling Stone, August 13, 2015, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14-things-we-learned-about-straight-outta-compton-20150813.

  40. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, March 2011.

  41. Author’s note: Dre picked a spectacularly foolish way to get arrested. As he recalled in VH1’s Behind the Music, he decided to test out his new $190,000 Ferrari Testarossa—by driving it, drunk, 140 miles per hour down Wilshire Boulevard. “Next thing I know,” he said, “I’m surrounded.”

  42. Ekow Eshun, “The Rap Trap,” The Guardian, May 26, 2000, https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/may/27/weekend7.weekend8.

  43. Ben Westhoff, Original Gangstas, Hachette Books, New York (2016), p. 281.

  44. Bruce Williams, Rollin’ with Dre, Ballantine Books, New York (2008), pp. 66–67.

  45. Leland Robinson, interview by author, Edgewater, New Jersey, November 2015.

  46. Tom Silverman, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  47. Ibid.

  48. Mark Landler, “Time Warner Seeks to Sell Stake in Gangsta Rap Label,” New York Times, August 10, 1995, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/10/business/time-warner-seeks-to-sell-stake-in-gangsta-rap-label.html.

  49. Bruce Williams, Rollin’ with Dre, Ballantine Books, New York (2008), pp. 90–91.

  50. Jeff Weiss, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, February 2017.

  51. Ibid.

  52. Author’s note: The murders of Biggie and Tupac are no closer to being solved than they were twenty years ago. And with many of the key players now dead—including detective Russell Poole and suspect Orlando Anderson—there’s little reason to suspect that anything will change.

  53. Devon Maloney, “Meet the ‘Real’ Cookie Lyon,” Vanity Fair, December 3, 2015, http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/12/lydia-harris-death-row-cookie-lyon.

  54. Orange County Register staff, “Electric Chair Is Hot Item at Death Row Records Auction,” Orange County Register, January 25, 2009, http://www.ocregister.com/articles/death-124187-row-auction.html.

  55. Jeff Rosenthal, “Suge Knight’s Run-ins with the Law: A Timeline,” February 5, 2015, Vulture, http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/suge-knights-run-ins-with-the-law-a-timeline.html.

  56. Fab 5 Freddy, interview by author, New York, New York, January 2016.

  57. Too Short, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, December 2016.

  58. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  Chapter 5: Aftermath

  1. Diddy, telephone interview by author, June 2013. Author’s note: This quote was originally published in my story “Diddy Talks Cable Deal; Will It Make Him a Billionaire?,” Forbes, June 20, 2013, http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2013/06/20/diddy-talks-cable-deal-will-it-make-him-a-billionaire/.

  2. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.

  3. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  4. RIAA staff, “No Way Out,” RIAA searchable database, http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/.

  5. Jon Pareles, “The Rap Tao of Success by Age Twenty-Six,” New York Times, December 3, 1997, http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/03/arts/pop-review-the-rap-tao-of-success-by-age-26.html.

  6. Tom Sinclair, “I’ll Be Missing You,” Entertainment Weekly, May 30, 1997, http://www.ew.com/article/1997/05/30/ill-be-missing-you.

  7. Voletta Wallace, interview by author, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, August 2016.

  8. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  9. Shea Serrano, The Rap Year Book, Abrams Image, New York (2015), p. 128.

  10. Rob LaFranco, “I Ain’t Foolin’ Around, I’m Building Assets,” Forbes, March 22, 1999, https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1999/0322/6306180a.html.

  11. Monique P. Yazigi, “A Night Out with: Puffy; Gettin’ Jiggy wit the Jet Set,” New York Times, August 23, 1998, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/23/style/a-night-out-with-puffy-gettin-jiggy-wit-the-jet-set.html.

  12. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  13. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  14. Jessica Rosenblum, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  15. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  16. Teddy Riley, telephone conversation with author, July 2013.

  17. Rob Stone, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  18. Robert Hilburn, “The Dr.’s Always In,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2007, http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-dre23sep23-story.html.

  19. Author’s note: Eighteen times, if you include the one mention of “Shady” without “Slim” in front of it.

  20. Bruce Williams, Rollin’ with Dre, Ballantine Books, New York (2008), p. 95.

  21. Rob LaFranco, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  22. Rob LaFranco, “I Ain’t Foolin’ Around, I’m Building Assets,” Forbes, March 22, 1999, https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1999/0322/6306180a.html.

  23. Rob LaFranco, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.

  24. B-High, interview for Jay-Z retrospective RD 20, Tidal, June 2016.

  25. Jonathan Mannion, interview by author, New York, New York, February 2016.

  26. Dan Charnas, The Big Payback, New American Library, New York (2010), p. 574.

  27. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  28. Dan Charnas, The Big Payback, New American Library, New York (2010), pp. 574–578.

  29. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  30. Craigh Barboza, “‘Ain’t Nothing Shine Brighter Than That Bad Boy’: The Inside Story of Hip-Hop’s Most Notorious Label,” GQ, September 8, 2014, http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201409/bad-boy-hip-hop.

  31. Monte Williams, “Arrest Is Not First for Puffy Combs,” New York Times, December 28, 1999, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/28/nyregion/arrest-is-not-first-for-puffy-combs.html.

  32. RIAA staff, “Forever,” RIAA searchable database, http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/.

  33. Chris Yuscavage, “The Fifty Worst Rap Album Fails,” Complex, August 25, 2011, http://www.complex.com/music/2011/08/the-50-worst-rap-album-fails3/.

  34. Paul Lieberman, “‘Puff Daddy’ Combs Arrested in NY,” Los Angeles Times, December 28, 1999, http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/28/news/mn-48379.

  35. Billboard staff, “New York Jury Finds ‘Puff Daddy’ Not Guilty,” March 19, 2001, http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/80330/new-york-jury-finds-puff-daddy-not-guilty.

  36. Vogue staff, “They Call It Puffy Love,” Vogue, June 29, 2001, http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2001/06/29/they-call-it-puffy-love.

  37. Chenise Wilson, interview by author, New York, New York, October 2015.

  38. Katherine E. Finkelstein, “Gun or No Gun, a Rap Empire Is Reeling,” New York Times, March 12, 2001, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/12/nyregion/gun-no-gun-rap-empire-reeling-even-if-combs-acquitted-lawsuits-other-fallout.html.

  39. Diddy, telephone interview by author, January 2015.

  40. Diddy, interview by author, Austin, Texas, March 2014.

  Chapter 6: Fashion Fortunes

  1. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  2. Ian Fisher, “Phat City,” New York Times, April 4, 1993, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/04/style/phat-city.html.

  3. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  4. Suzanne Rostler, “Forty Under Forty: Class of 1995,” Crain’s, October 12, 2012, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/1995/Khezrie. />
  5. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  6. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), pp. 79–83.

  7. Russell Simmons, interview by author, New York, New York, April 2016.

  8. Author’s note: This may have been true, but Jay-Z’s eventual wife, Beyoncé, was a sheltered starlet from suburban Houston.

  9. Barbara Ross, “Jay-Z Admits Guilt,” New York Daily News, October 18, 2001, http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/jay-z-admits-guilt-years-probation-99-stabbing-article-1.925230.

  10. Jay-Z, Decoded, Spiegel and Grau, New York (2010), pp. 110–111.

  11. Dan Charnas, The Big Payback, New American Library, New York (2010), p. 592.

  12. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  13. Robin Givhan, “They Laughed When Diddy Launched a Fashion Line. Then He Changed the Industry,” Washington Post, April 21, 2016, http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2016/04/21/they-laughed-when-diddy-launched-a-fashion-line-then-he-changed-the-industry/.

  14. Ibid.

  15. Kenny Meiselas, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2016.

  16. Teri Agins, “Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs Sells Stake in Clothing Brand to Yucaipa Co.,” Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2003, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106366610215685300.

  17. Kenny Meiselas, telephone interview by author, February 2017.

  18. Too Short, interview by author, Los Angeles, California, December 2016.

  19. Verna Griffin, Long Road Outta Compton, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (2008), pp. 176–177.

  20. Snoop Dogg, Web video interview with Strong Arm Steady, July 2012, http://www.killerhiphop.com/video-snoop-dogg-discusses-jay-z-ghostwriting-still-d-r-e/.

  21. Nielsen staff, the Nielsen Company 2009 Year-End Music Industry Report, January 6, 2010, http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100106007077/en/2009-U.S.-Music-Purchases-2.1-2008-Music.

  22. Kevin Morrow, telephone interview by author, October 2015.

  23. Shaquille O’Neal, telephone interview by author, February 2015.

  24. Steve Knopper, “Dr. Dre, Inc.,” Rolling Stone, June 8, 2015, http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dr-dre-inc-a-brief-history-of-moguls-biggest-business-deals-20150608.

  25. MC Serch, interview by author, New York, New York, November 2015.