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165-439: Marion Hugh " Suge " Knight Jr. ( / ʃ ʊ ɡ / SHUUG ; born April 19, 1965) is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records . Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap 's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre 's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg 's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight
330-601: A Rolling 60's Crip , was severely beaten by several Bloods , who were allegedly from Suge Knight's inner circle. As a result of his injuries, Jamerson died the next day at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. After an August visit to see 2Pac at Clinton Correctional Facility in northern New York state, Suge traveled southward to New York City to join Death Row's entourage to the 2nd Annual Source Awards ceremony. Already reputed for strongarm tactics on
495-565: A homeless man, James N. Gregory, with a pistol. Gregory had approached Ice's car outside of a supermarket and attempted to sell him a silver chain. Ice and his bodyguard were charged with three weapons offenses. Ice pled no contest . In January 2001, Ice was arrested by police in Davie, Florida , for assaulting his wife, Laura. According to the criminal complaint, Ice and his wife argued as they drove on Interstate 595 . Ice admitted to pulling hair from her head to prevent her from jumping out of
660-756: A " Juggalo ", a fan of Psychopathic Records hip hop groups. By 2012, he was a vegetarian for six years. In 2013, Ice stated that he has Choctaw heritage through his maternal grandmother. In 2015, after Ice repeated his claim of Choctaw identity in response to criticisms of Native American portrayals in The Ridiculous 6 , Choctaw genealogists researched his family tree, finding his maternal genealogy to be mostly German, with no Choctaw ancestry possible. Ice responded via Twitter that "I'm not going to pretend I'm Indian, Just because I have Indian blood. Sorry for any disrespect, to me Indians are American royalty." In 2016, Ice's wife filed for divorce, saying that
825-471: A $ 220 fine for expired pet tags and an undisclosed fine for the escape of the animals. On April 10, 2008, Ice was arrested in Palm Beach County on a battery charge for allegedly kicking and hitting his wife. He was released the following day, after she declared that her husband had only pushed her. In court, the couple's neighbor, Frank Morales, stated that it was merely a verbal argument. Ice
990-519: A $ 4 billion purchase of eOne , making them the owners of Death Row Records. In April 2021, Hasbro and Entertainment One announced it would sell-off eOne Music to The Blackstone Group , which its acquisition was completed in June 2021. On February 9, 2022, ahead of the release of his next album and his appearance in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show , Snoop Dogg announced that he would acquire
1155-553: A 1995 federal case, Knight pleaded no contest and was sentenced to five years' probation for assaulting two rappers in the summer of 1992 at a Hollywood recording studio. Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C. , Dr. Dre , Suge Knight , and Dick Griffey . The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast -based artists such as Dr. Dre ( The Chronic ), Snoop Dogg ( Doggystyle ) and 2Pac ( All Eyez on Me ) during
1320-604: A 2002 release. However, the single did not chart in the UK and the album ended up being released by footballer Kevin Campbell's record label 2 Wikid, before being re-issued in 2006 by Mona Records. Left Eye , member of the R&;B girl group TLC signed with Death Row after finishing her solo deal with Arista who released her first album Supernova in 2001. At this time, Death Row changed into Tha Row Records . Lopes joined to record
1485-444: A Campanella Park Piru Bloods gang member and Death Row bodyguard. According to eyewitnesses, including a Fulton County sheriff working there as a nightclub bouncer, Puff had heatedly disputed with Suge inside the club. Several minutes later, outside the club, Puff's childhood friend and own bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones was involved in a heated altercation with others that ultimately led to Robles being fatally shot while entering
1650-600: A Limousine. The attorneys of Puff and Jones both denied any involvement by their clients, while Puff's lawyer added that Puff had not even been with his bodyguard that night. Over 20 years later, the case remains officially unresolved, and Jones himself was fatally shot in Atlanta in November 2003 during an altercation with the Black Mafia Family . Yet immediately and persistently, Suge blamed Puff, cementing
1815-432: A South Dallas nightclub, where he was dared to go on stage by his friend Squirrel during an open-mic. He won the crowd over and was asked by City Lights manager John Bush if he wanted to perform regularly, which he accepted. Ice would be joined on stage by his disc jockeys D-Shay and Zero, as well as Earthquake, the local disc jockey at City Lights. The Vanilla Ice Posse or The V.I.P. would also perform with Ice on stage. As
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#17327902091761980-427: A Southside Compton Crips gang member. Three hours later, someone shot into the car Knight was driving, injuring Knight and fatally wounding Shakur . Dr. Dre left Death Row Records shortly before Shakur's death, followed by Snoop Dogg two years later. The label rapidly declined. Meanwhile, allegations mounted that Knight, beyond employing gang members, often used intimidation and violence in his business dealings. From
2145-503: A bodyguard for Suge Knight, was fired after he failed to return two Death Row Records cars which he borrowed. After Williams was fired, he became a close associate of Rodrick Cardale "Lil Rod" Reed, a Fruit Town Piru member. The pair are alleged to be behind the murders of the Mob Piru Bloods from Death Row Records. Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice ,
2310-427: A business. According to financial records, his bank account contained just $ 11, and he owned clothing worth $ 1,000, furniture and appliances valued at $ 2,000, and jewelry worth $ 25,000. He also testified that the last time he had checked the label's financial records was at least 10 years prior. Knight's lawyer said that his client was still "at the helm" of Death Row and had been working on securing distribution deals for
2475-427: A car dealership. Van Winkle was affected by hip hop at an early age, saying "It's a very big passion of mine because I love poetry. I was just heavily influenced by that whole movement and it's molded me into who I am today." Between the ages of 13 and 14, Van Winkle practiced breakdancing , which led to his friends nicknaming him "Vanilla", as he was the only one in the group who was not black. Although he disliked
2640-604: A company to continue business operations while restructuring. Death Row was being operated by Neilson during the bankruptcy proceedings, while Knight oversaw his bankruptcy estate as a debtor in possession. In June 2007, he placed his 7 bedroom, 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 bathroom home in Malibu, California , on the market for $ 6.2 million as part of his "financial makeover". The mansion was finally sold in December 2008 in bankruptcy court for $ 4.56 million. In June 2008, Death Row Records
2805-507: A contract that would release Young from Ruthless Records . Technology is so high, right, so if you shoot somebody, you go to jail forever. Kids, you don't want to go to jail forever, right? So they got this new thing out that people sell them all the time. They got this stuff they call, they get blood from somebody with AIDS, and then they shoot you with it. That's a slow death. That Eazy-E thing. Knight on Jimmy Kimmel Live In 2003, after Eazy-E died of AIDS-related complications, Knight
2970-455: A deal with Shakur that October, posting his $ 1.4 million bail and freeing him from prison pending an appeal of his conviction, while signing him to Death Row Records. In 1996, the label released Shakur's greatest commercial success, All Eyez on Me . That September, after departing a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas , a group that included Knight and Shakur assaulted Orlando Anderson ,
3135-511: A double disc the following year. On February 28, Suge Knight was convicted of parole violation and sentenced to nine years in prison, causing Interscope to drop their distribution deal with the label. Suge Knight's control over the label diminished, as Nate Dogg was able to leave, followed by Snoop Dogg and Kurupt. The Lady of Rage left after the release of her solo album Necessary Roughness to pursue an acting career, so did Michel'le with Hung Jury . Daz Dillinger departed in 1999 after
3300-469: A fake biography in his name and tried to pass it off as his official life story without his knowledge. While on tour in 1991, Ice found out that SBK had instigated the publication of the biography which detailed false biographical information, including claims that he had attended school with Luther Campbell , and exaggerating his living conditions in Miami, which Ice later had to debunk by himself. Following
3465-645: A few hours earlier. Orlando Anderson , the Crip whom Shakur had attacked, fired the fatal shots. Las Vegas police discounted Anderson as a suspect after questioning him once briefly. He was later killed in what police said was an unrelated gang shooting." The article implicated East Coast music figures, including Biggie, Shakur's nemesis at the time, alleging that he paid for the gun. Before their own deaths, Biggie, his family and Anderson denied any role in Shakur's murder. Biggie's family produced documents purporting to show that
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#17327902091763630-568: A former Death Row publicist reported through HipHopDX that New Solutions Financial Corporation, the Canadian company that owned WIDEawake Death Row, had gone bankrupt and sold both the label and catalog to a publicly held company in a deal that would be closed on December 10. In 2013, Entertainment One purchased the rights to the Death Row catalog. New Solutions Financial Corporation was eventually exposed as an alleged Ponzi scheme . On August 23, 2019, American toy company Hasbro announced
3795-478: A former Death Row associate, said that he had knowledge of involvement between Knight and Mack and other LAPD officers. His information was used by the Wallace family in their suit against the city of L.A. for Biggie's death. But Hackie later told Los Angeles Times reporter Chuck Philips that the Wallace attorneys had altered his declarations. The suit brought by the Wallace family against the city of L.A. based on
3960-487: A free concert, the Juggalo March On Washington . Between 2015 and 2016, Vanilla Ice was one of the main headliners for the worldwide 'I Love the 90s Tour'. On January 4, 2019, Dave Franco was cast to star as Ice in a biopic chronicling the rapper's life. On December 31, 2020, Ice was the star attraction at a New Year's Eve party at President Trump's mansion Mar-a-Lago . The President himself
4125-433: A label with them, away from Heller and Eazy-E. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Suge Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy-E for the D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Jewell , and Michel'le . Dr. Dre and Suge Knight along with partners the D.O.C. and Dick Griffey began the process of starting a record label and music partnership in anticipation of Dr. Dre's departure from Ruthless. Although the name of their new music venture
4290-628: A major image change but was commercially unsuccessful. Following rap rock performances in the underground scene and playing in a local grunge band, Ice released the dark nu metal album Hard to Swallow (1998), followed by the independently released Bi-Polar (2001) and Platinum Underground (2005). In the 2000s, Ice began appearing on television reality shows including The Surreal Life . In 2010, Ice began hosting The Vanilla Ice Project on DIY Network which ran for nine seasons until 2019. In 2022, he started another home improvement television program, The Vanilla Ice Home Show . He
4455-501: A member of the Los Angeles Raiders . According to Vanilla Ice, Knight took him out on the balcony by himself, and implied he would throw Vanilla Ice off unless he signed the rights to the song over to Knight; Van Winkle's money helped fund Death Row. Death Row was initially located at the intersection of Westwood Blvd and Wilshire Blvd, later to be relocated to the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd. With
4620-410: A new Vanilla Ice album. According to Robinson, others had attempted to discourage him from working with Ice, saying it might hurt his reputation. Rather than being dissuaded, Robinson was encouraged by their reticence and agreed to work with Ice. In an interview, Robinson stated, "It's the most punk-rock thing you could do." Despite not being happy with his old image, Van Winkle stated that he never had
4785-492: A parent company for the newly christened Death Row. Knight approached Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle), using management connections with Mario "Chocolate" Johnson, claiming Johnson had produced and co-written the song " Ice Ice Baby ", and had not received royalties for it. After consulting with Alex Roberts, Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California , where Van Winkle
4950-614: A performance in Acapulco , the city honored Ice with a medal that represented "all the respect and admiration to [Ice's] music and to [him] as an artist from the Mexican people". Ice also served as a spokesperson for Nike and Coca-Cola throughout 1991 and 1992. In 1993, Ice toured Eastern Europe again and premiered songs off his upcoming album in St. Petersburg , Russia in front of President Boris Yeltsin . After almost non-stop touring for
5115-476: A performer for City Lights, Ice opened up for N.W.A , Public Enemy , The D.O.C. , Tone Lōc , 2 Live Crew , Paula Abdul , Sinbad and MC Hammer . In January 1987, Ice was stabbed five times during a scuffle outside of City Lights. After spending ten days in the hospital, Ice signed a contract with the owner of City Lights, Tommy Quon, and his management company, Ultrax. Two years later, Ice would open for EPMD , Ice-T , Stetsasonic , and Sir Mix-A-Lot on
Suge Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
5280-660: A piss take)." On February 27, 2009, Ice performed as part of a joint performance with MC Hammer in Orem, Utah , called "Hammer Pants And Ice", which featured twenty four dancers and a full choir. In August 2009, Ice signed a contract with StandBy Records ; however, Ice later left the label. Ice was a special musical guest at the 2010 National Television Awards in January, performing with Jedward for their remix and debut single " Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby) ". Ice also recorded his verse for their album Planet Jedward and appeared in
5445-447: A problem with his older music. He decided against changing his stage name, as he felt no need to run from his past, despite being uneasy with some of it, and started performing again, booking a hundred shows a year. Ice's third studio album, Hard to Swallow , featured a darker sound and lyrics than Ice's previous work, as well as various mixtures of different styles of hip hop and hard rock, which garnered media attention. Ice attracted
5610-468: A public feud with 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell . The following year, he opened a private, by-appointment-only nightclub in Las Vegas called Club 662, so named because the numbers spelled out MOB on telephone keypads, MOB standing for Member of Bloods . In 1995, he ran afoul of civil rights activist C. Delores Tucker 's campaign against gangsta rap , whose criticism of Death Row's glamorization of
5775-400: A rap interlude to their track Size Queen . On Ice's collaboration with the band, lead vocalist and bassist Halstead was quoted saying, "I asked him if he could rap over [the track] and he said he can rap over anything. And he could!" Per his stepfather's request, Ice started working with his former manager Tommy Quon again. While hoping to re-create some of the magic that they worked hard on in
5940-594: A recording artist and wanna stay a star, and don't have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos, all on the records, dancing, come to Death Row." Conrad Tillard , then the Nation of Islam minister known as Conrad Muhammad, the Hip Hop Minister, counseled Combs during his ensuing feud with Knight, and also asked Knight to stop terrorizing Combs. Tillard also protected Combs, sending elite guards from his Mosque No. 7 to guard Combs, who
6105-461: A reference vocal, the equivalent of a first take. But nothing indicates when the documents were created. And Louis Alfred, the recording engineer listed on the sheets, said in an interview that he remembered recording the song with Wallace in a late-night session, not during the day. He could not recall the date of the session but said it was likely not the night Shakur was shot. We would have heard about it, Mr. Alfred said. Mark Duvoisin, an editor at
6270-578: A reformatted version under the title To the Extreme ; it became the fastest-selling hip hop album of all time and "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip hop single to top the Billboard charts . Followed by the live album Extremely Live (1991), Ice made a cameo appearance on the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) where he performed " Ninja Rap ", which he co-wrote. He
6435-468: A replacement player during the 1987 NFL Players Strike , and played two games for the Rams. After his brief NFL career, Knight found work as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for celebrities including Bobby Brown . In 1989, Knight formed his own music publishing company. His first big profit in the business came when Vanilla Ice agreed to sign over royalties from his smash hit " Ice Ice Baby ", because
6600-591: A rogue cop, and a mortgage broker named Amir Muhammad (who was never a police suspect) along with the chief of police and the LAPD in a conspiracy to murder and cover up the murder of Biggie. The Biggie theory formed the basis of a US$ 500 million lawsuit by his family, the Wallaces, against the city of Los Angeles. A key source for Poole's theory was Kevin Hackie. Hackie had implicated Knight and David Mack . Hackie,
6765-507: A role in the movie That's My Boy , starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg , (released in 2012). In the film, Ice portrays an exaggerated version of himself called Uncle Vanny. While shooting, he collaborated with Samberg and Sandler musically. In August, Ice performed at the 2011 Gathering of the Juggalos; he signed with Psychopathic Records , but later departed from the label without releasing anything. His sixth studio album, WTF ,
Suge Knight - Misplaced Pages Continue
6930-553: A second solo album under the pseudonym N.I.N.A. (New Identity Not Applicable), while also working on TLC's new album 3D . N.I.N.A. was canceled after her death in April 2002. The album was leaked online in 2011. After promoting his new talent from prison, directing a campaign against his former artists and exacerbating the conflict between Daz Dillinger, Snoop Dogg and Kurupt, Suge had still yet to release any albums by his new artists. After Kurupt's second departure, Against tha Grain
7095-631: A stake of Death Row's catalogue to former Apple Music 's Global Creative Director Larry Jackson 's music label Gamma . During the onset of 2023, Jane Handcocks's World of Women and October London 's The Rebirth of Marvin were released. On February 12, 2023, Snoop Dogg announced that Death Row's catalogue would return to TikTok via association with music distribution company SoundOn. Death Row's catalogue returned to all music streaming services on March 9, 2023. Death Row Records has been referred to as "the most controversial record label in history", due to Suge Knight's practice of hiring gang members and
7260-480: A whole new audience when he started touring again, some who were even unfamiliar with his more mainstream sound. Reviews were generally negative; Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote, "The most earnest new song, Scars , condemns an abusive father. The sentiments would sound more genuine if Korn hadn't gotten there first." Richard Torres of Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, writing that while "nothing, however, can redeem Ice's wack boasting,"
7425-650: Is affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods , a set of the Bloods gang. From 1983 to 1985, he attended and played football at El Camino College . In 1985, he transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas , and played football there for two years. Knight went undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft , but was invited to the Los Angeles Rams training camp . He was cut by the Rams during camp, but became
7590-467: Is also involved in motocross racing and real estate. Robert Matthew Van Winkle was born in Dallas , Texas, on October 31, 1967. Van Winkle has never known his biological father; he was given the family name of the man his mother was married to at the time of his birth. When Van Winkle was four, his mother divorced. Afterward, he grew up moving between Dallas and Miami, where his new stepfather worked at
7755-464: Is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas and raised there and in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success following the 1990 release of his best-known hit " Ice Ice Baby ". Ice released his debut album, Hooked , on the independent Ichiban Records before signing a contract with SBK Records , a record label of the EMI Group , which released
7920-485: Is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015. Before founding Death Row Records, Knight played college football at UNLV as a defensive end. He briefly played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike . In 1995, Tupac Shakur began serving a prison sentence of up to 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 years for a sexual abuse conviction. Knight struck
8085-417: Is no worse than his suave beats". Criticizing the technique and style of Vanilla Ice, Allrovi reviewer Steve Huey wrote: Ice's mic technique is actually stronger and more nimble than MC Hammer 's, and he really tries earnestly to show off the skills he does have. Unfortunately, even if he can keep a mid-tempo pace, his flow is rhythmically stiff, and his voice has an odd timbre; plus, he never seems sure of
8250-437: Is still better than a lot of the rap-metal bands that erupted in 2000/2001" and that the rap beats on Bomb Tha System "are surprisingly solid." In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , Rob Kemp gave the album one out of five stars, calling the album "utterly listless". According to a Sony BMG executive, sales of Bi-Polar were "not bad...for Vanilla Ice. That's pretty respectable. Seriously." With Quon back as manager, Ice
8415-564: The Bounty Hunter Bloods named William "Rat" Ratcliffe was pressuring Suge Knight to sign him to Death Row Records. After Ratcliffe confronted Knight with 10 other Bounty Hunter Bloods, Knight ordered Wardell "Poochie" Fouse , who was a fellow Mob Piru member, to kill Ratcliffe. After the murder of Tupac Shakur, Knight was incarcerated due to probation violations. Knight held Sean Combs , the CEO of Bad Boy Records , responsible for
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#17327902091768580-492: The Gathering of the Juggalos with Insane Clown Posse . Ninja Rap 2 was the first song to be released from Platinum Underground and was available to download for free off of Ice's official website. In 2007, Ice returned to a spin-off of The Surreal Life titled The Surreal Life: Fame Games , where he again trashed the set after being voted off. In September 2008, Ice signed a contract with Cleopatra Records , recording
8745-561: The L.A. Times , wrote in an opinion piece in Rolling Stone that Philips' account had withstood attacks to its credibility. However, the L.A. Times printed a full retraction of the two-part series and released Philips shortly thereafter during a wave of layoffs. In Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake, a documentary by Tupac Shakur's bodyguard, he and Cathy Scott , author of The Killing of Tupac Shakur and The Murder of Biggie Smalls , said that Knight would not have placed himself in
8910-544: The Russell Poole theory was dismissed in 2010. In 2005, Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times reported that another source for the theory of Biggie's murder implicating Muhammad, Mack, Knight and the LAPD was a schizophrenic man known as "Psycho Mike" who later confessed to hearsay and memory lapses and falsely identifying Muhammad. John Cook of Brill's Content noted that Philips' article "demolished"
9075-581: The Stop the Violence Tour . Quon saw commercial potential in Ice's rapping and dancing skills. Buying studio time with Quon's earnings from City Lights, they recorded songs that had been perfected on stage by Ice and his acquaintances with various producers, including Khayree . The two year production was distributed by an independent record company called Ichiban Records in 1989. " Play That Funky Music "
9240-404: The cover album Vanilla Ice Is Back! at the label's request. The album was released on November 4, 2008, and contained covers of songs by Public Enemy , House of Pain , Bob Marley , and Cypress Hill . IGN reviewer Spence D. called the album "an embarrassing endeavor that sounds like it should have stayed locked inside Ice's studio (or at the very least leaked on YouTube and passed off as
9405-598: The "gangsta" lifestyle may have helped scuttle a lucrative deal with Time Warner . Knight's feud with East Coast entrepreneur Sean Combs ("Puff Daddy") progressed when Knight insulted the Bad Boy label founder on air at the Source Awards in August 1995. Openly critical of Combs's tendency of ad-libbing on his artists' songs and dancing in their videos, Knight announced to the audience, "Anyone out there who wanna be
9570-486: The '90s". Initially, Knight fulfilled his ambitions: he secured a distribution deal with Interscope, and Dre's 1992 solo debut album, The Chronic , earned triple platinum status in the United States by the end of 1993. It also made a career for Dre's protégé, Snoop Dogg , whose own debut album Doggystyle obtained a quadruple platinum certification in the United States in 1994. Meanwhile, Death Row had begun
9735-432: The 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US $ 150 million a year. By the late 1990s, the label began to decline after the death of its star artist, 2Pac, imprisonment of Suge Knight, and the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Although Death Row was enjoying financial success, it was embroiled in controversies, lawsuits, and violence by its artists and associates. Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and
9900-581: The Case . On November 22, 1994, at the offices of The Brotherhood Crusade in Los Angeles , Suge Knight and several artists from Death Row such as Tha Dogg Pound as well as DJ Quik distributed nearly 2,000 turkeys to the public. Death Row also donated turkeys the following year as well. On March 13, 1995, Death Row Records hosted a private party at the El Rey Theatre , where Kelly Jamerson ,
10065-539: The European market, spawning a wave of new overseas interest in Vanilla Ice. Having attracted a following outside of his former mainstream audience, Ice began recording independently, despite still being signed to Universal. During a recording session, Ice met the all-female American hard rock band from Southern California , Betty Blowtorch . Bianca Halstead bonded with Ice and asked if he wanted to contribute
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#173279020917610230-516: The Fugees and Nas . Tha Dogg Pound 's debut album, Dogg Food , continued the label's streak of commercial successes; its members – rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger – then joined Snoop in ridiculing New York rappers with their single " New York, New York ", featuring Snoop Dogg. The video, set in New York City , New York, was also heightened when the set was fired upon in a drive-by. After
10395-472: The Los Angeles rap scene, after giving a brief comment of support for Shakur, Suge used his brief stage time mainly to disparage Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs , CEO of Bad Boy Records , the label then leading New York rap scene. Knight criticized Combs for his habit of ad-libbing on his artists' music as well as making numerous cameo appearances in his artists' music videos. Suge then invited artists seeking
10560-562: The Poole-Sullvan theory of Biggie 's murder. Around the same time, Philips wrote an L.A. Times two-part series titled "Who Killed Tupac Shakur?" about the murder of Shakur and events surrounding it based on police affidavits, court documents and interviews. The L.A. Times story indicated that "the shooting was carried out by a Compton gang called the Southside Crips to avenge the beating of one of its members by Shakur
10725-486: The UK market with Death Row Records operating as an independent record label in conjunction with the Ritz Music Group, a company known for its success with Irish country music artists such as Daniel O'Donnell The joint-venture signed British R&B singer Mark Morrison to a five-year deal with Death Row Records UK, with a single called "Thank God It's Friday" and an album called Innocent Man scheduled for
10890-422: The United States, grossing $ 638,000, ranking at #14 among the week's new releases. Reviews of the film were negative. Film website Rotten Tomatoes , which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 8%. Ice received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star. SBK stated that they overexposed Ice and Ice decided to stop taking their business advice, as well as distancing himself from
11055-494: The Wake Up Show with Sway & King Tech. On August 6, 2001, Suge Knight was released from prison. Despite bad blood, Kurupt would again sign with Suge Knight in exchange for the position of Vice President, which sparked a feud between himself and Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg. He began work on Against tha Grain ; his verbal feud with his former partners continued from 2002 to 2005. The same year, Knight decided to enter
11220-523: The album "isn't half-bad." In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , Rob Kemp gave the album three out of five stars, writing that it contained Ice's "most convincing music". In promotion of Hard to Swallow , Ice toured with a seven-piece live band which included future Weezer bassist Scott Shriner . The band opened with rock-oriented material from Hard to Swallow and concluded with older hip hop songs. The setlist also included "Power", based upon Led Zeppelin 's " Immigrant Song ". Ice said that writing
11385-460: The album "more clunky than funky". Allrovi reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "There isn't a single moment that establishes a distinct musical identity, and the whole thing is rather embarrassing." At around this time, Ice began using ecstasy , cocaine and heroin. During periods of heavy drug use, Ice received many tattoos from artist acquaintances. According to Ice, he "was in [his] binge days. [He] didn't even realize how many [he]
11550-483: The album of Hammer's music (titled Too Tight ) while he had a career with them, although he did release versions of some tracks on his next album. However, Hammer did record tracks with Shakur and others, most notably the song " Too Late Playa " (along with Big Daddy Kane and Danny Boy ). After the death of Shakur in 1996, Hammer left the record company. He later explained his concern about this circumstance in an interview on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) since he
11715-531: The appointment of a Receiver to acquire and auction off assets of both Death Row Records and Suge Knight in the civil case filed by Lydia Harris. Among those listed as unsecured creditors to Death Row include the Harrises ($ 107 million), the Internal Revenue Service ($ 6.9 million), Koch Records ($ 3.4 million), Interscope Records ($ 2.5 million) and a number of artists previously signed to
11880-453: The chance to hear inane stage patter [...] and unaccompanied drumming, during which, one assumes, Ice and his posse are onstage dancing." Monte Lipman later stated that SBK only released the live disc to make more money from Ice's fame. In April 1991, Ice began to film the SBK produced Cool as Ice , in which he played a leading role. Cool as Ice opened on October 18, 1991, in 393 theaters in
12045-488: The conspiracy, also wrote that a bounty was offered for Suge Knight's murder. While in Las Vegas, Kading's book stated, Davis and fellow Crips members crossed paths with a BMW carrying Knight and Shakur. The fatal shots were fired by Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, who sat on the side of the car closest to the BMW. Kading alleged that Knight hired Wardell "Poochie" Fouse to kill Biggie, Sean Combs' most valuable star, whose murder
12210-477: The death of Shakur and sought revenge. Through his then-girlfriend Theresa Swann, the incarcerated Knight contacted Wardell Fouse and hired him to kill The Notorious B.I.G. Swann was given $ 25,000, of which $ 13,000 would go to Fouse. During the initial investigation into Wallace's murder, Fouse was not a suspect, as detective Russell Poole 's prime suspects were the LAPD officer David Mack and Mack's friend Amir Muhammed (Harry Billups). After Poole resigned from
12375-534: The deaths of several people from Knight's inner circle. On April 4, 2006, Knight filed bankruptcy due to civil litigation against him in which Lydia Harris was said to have been cheated out of a 50% stake in Death Row Records. Under questioning by creditors, he denied having money tucked away in foreign countries or in an African company that deals in diamonds and gold. Bankruptcy documents filed showed Knight had no income from employment or operation of
12540-579: The department in 1999, the case stalled. After the case was reopened in 2006, the lead detective, Greg Kading, concluded that Wardell Fouse was the shooter. As Fouse was murdered in 2003, no charges were pressed against him. By the early 2000s, a rivalry had developed between the Mob Piru Bloods and the Fruit Town Piru Bloods, resulting in the deaths of several Mob Pirus associated with Death Row Records, including (but not limited to): This feud started when George "G" Williams, who worked as
12705-465: The early 1990s, Ice denied any interest in trying to become big again, stating that his only passion was music, not fame. In May 2000, Ice wrestled in a match promoted by Juggalo Championshit Wrestling , filling in for Insane Clown Posse member Shaggy 2 Dope , who had been injured during a match. MTV News reported that Insane Clown Posse would make an appearance on Ice's next album, tentatively titled Bomb Tha System . In July 2001, Ice performed at
12870-611: The enmity between the two bosses, whose two record labels dominated the rap genre's two mainstream centers. In October 1995, Knight visited 2Pac in prison again and posted $ 1.4 million bond. 2Pac began work on his Death Row album, kicking off his tenure by insulting the Notorious B.I.G. , Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Puff Daddy (the founder of Bad Boy Records ), whom he accused of setting him up to be robbed and shot at Quad Studios on November 30, 1994, as well as Mobb Deep , Jay-Z , A Tribe Called Quest , De La Soul , Jimmy Henchman ,
13035-571: The fifteenth floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by a member of the Los Angeles Raiders football team. According to Ice, Knight took him out on the balcony by himself, and implied that he would throw him off the balcony unless he signed the publishing rights to the song over to Knight; Knight used Ice's money to help fund Death Row Records . Ice's second major release was the live album Extremely Live , released in March 1991. The album
13200-453: The film industry with an appearance in the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze , which he later called "one of the coolest experiences" of his career. Ice was very secretive about his personal life, with the intention of protecting his family. When a Dallas Morning News reporter asked Ice what his mother's profession was, he replied, "None of your fucking business." In an attempt to rectify this, his former label wrote
13365-690: The first artist signed to the label. On September 7, 1996, Suge Knight and 2Pac were caught on surveillance camera at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas attacking gang member Orlando Anderson , who was a member of the South Side Compton Crips street gang. Later that night, 2Pac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in the front seat of Suge Knight's BMW 750iL waiting at a red traffic light at crossroads ; en route to Knight's Las Vegas Club 662; despite living six days in critical condition, 2Pac died on September 13, 1996. He
13530-569: The gang-related violence which plagued the record label. Knight, who was a member of the Mob Piru Bloods , hired gang members from his set, as well as other sets, including the Fruit Town Piru and Lueders Park Piru. There have been several murders committed by gang members affiliated with Death Row Records. Furthermore, many of the Bloods who worked for the record label would eventually be murdered. In 1995, an aspiring rapper and member of
13695-400: The help of Kenner, Knight began signing young, inner-city California -based artists and arranged for Death Row Records to contribute to the soundtrack for the 1992 film, Deep Cover . The single, " Deep Cover ", established Dr. Dre as a solo artist and a young Snoop Doggy Dogg as his protégé. Work soon began on The Chronic , Dr. Dre's debut solo album, which heavily featured Snoop and
13860-692: The image that SBK was trying to create for him. In late 1991, Ice appeared in the Circus of the Stars and Sideshow , driving his motorcycle through a wall of fire. While his fame in the United States had severely dropped, Ice continued touring in 1992, playing in South America, Europe, Australia and Asia, and premiering new songs like "Get Loose", "The Wrath", "Now & Forever", "Where the Dogs At? (All Night Long)", "Minutes of Power" and "Iceman Party". After
14025-555: The infighting, Dr. Dre officially left Death Row Records to found Aftermath , which provoked 2Pac to turn against Dr. Dre. Suge Knight's relationship with MC Hammer dates back to 1988. With the success of Hammer's 1994 album, The Funky Headhunter , Hammer signed with Death Row in 1995, along with his close friend, Tupac. The label did not release the album of M.C. Hammer's music (titled Too Tight ), although he did release versions of some tracks on his next album. However, Hammer did record tracks with Shakur and others, most notably
14190-433: The interview, Dr. Dre's lawyer, Howard King, later refuted the "false reports" two days later, stating that Dre still retains total control of The Chronic , which came back to streaming services on February 1, 2023. On April 18, 2022, it was announced that Death Row Records would have its own streaming service, which pays higher royalties to its artists than main music streaming services. In December 2022, Snoop Dogg sold
14355-454: The label after Tha Doggfather album. Snoop Dogg's purchase of Death Row Records did not include the rights to Tupac or Dr. Dre's albums originally which those rights have been reverted back to Interscope Records . On March 4, 2022, in an interview with Tidal , Snoop Dogg stated he acquired the rights to all the albums previously released on Death Row Records, including his debut studio album Doggystyle and Dr. Dre's The Chronic. Despite
14520-494: The label's catalog. Harris told reporters she had received a $ 1 million payment but had not agreed to settle the matter. "I'm telling you, I didn't do a settlement for $ 1 million. That's ridiculous. Let's keep it real," she said. On July 7, 2006, the federal judge, Ellen Carroll, ordered a bankruptcy trustee takeover of Suge Knight's Death Row Records, saying the record label had undergone a gross amount of mismanagement. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows
14685-469: The label, Dr. Dre produced a large number of Ruthless projects, many of them successful; feeling the pressures of having to produce so many acts and feeling he was underpaid, Dr. Dre became frustrated with Ruthless. After the departure of Ice Cube in 1989 over financial disagreements with Jerry Heller , Suge Knight and the D.O.C. went over the books with a lawyer. Convinced that Jerry Heller and Eazy-E were dishonest, they approached Dr. Dre about forming
14850-503: The label, although he contributed toward two tracks on 2Pac's All Eyez on Me . The rest of the tracks on the album, however, were mostly produced by Daz Dillinger and Johnny J , despite Dr. Dre being nominally titled as Executive Producer. 2Pac's behavior reportedly became erratic as he continued his verbal wars with the Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy Records, Puff Daddy, Mobb Deep, and Prodigy, including many violent confrontations with many of those rappers at some points. On March 22, 1996, due to
15015-481: The label, and later releasing a diss track named " Pimp Slapp'd ", critically acclaimed by music magazine Complex . The label supported itself with releases pulled from vaults—most successfully various posthumous 2Pac albums, along with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg re-releases. He signed new talent, including Crooked I , who had been lighting up the Californian underground with his rhyming ability, particularly
15180-406: The label. Suge Knight eventually lost control of Death Row Records and his personal assets when Chapter 11 Trustees took over both cases. On January 15, 2009, Death Row Records was successfully auctioned for $ 18 million to Ontario -based WIDEawake Entertainment Group that was founded in 2008 by Lara Lavi, with financing from New Solutions Financial Corporation. On January 25, 2009, a public auction
15345-466: The late 1990s to the early 2000s, Knight spent a few years incarcerated for assault convictions and associated violations of probation and parole . In September 2018, Knight pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a fatal 2015 hit-and-run. Knight's conviction, along with his previous felonies of stealing a camera and sending a harassing text message to Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray , triggered California's three-strikes law . He
15510-602: The latter, he met several members of the seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A . Dr. Dre and The D.O.C. wanted to leave both N.W.A and their label, Ruthless Records , run by Eazy-E , another member of N.W.A. According to N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller , Knight and his henchmen threatened Heller and Eazy-E with lead pipes and baseball bats to make them release Dre, The D.O.C. , and Michel'le from their contracts in April 1991. Ultimately, Dre and D.O.C. co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 with Knight, who vowed to make it "the Motown of
15675-491: The marriage was "irretrievably broken." His third child with his new wife was born in 2018. On August 8, 1988, Ice was arrested in South Dallas for illegal drag racing . In 1990, Ice was threatened with copyright infringement for use of samples from " Under Pressure " by Queen and David Bowie . The matter was settled out of court. On June 3, 1991, he was arrested in Los Angeles on firearm charges after threatening
15840-404: The murder of Shakur. In his 2011 self-published book, Murder Rap , Kading wrote that Duane "Keefe D" Davis, a member of the "Crips" street gang, gave a confession years later saying he rode in the car used in the Las Vegas shooting of Shakur. The Crips said they had been offered a million dollars by associates of Bad Boy records to kill Shakur. Kading, who named Sean Combs as having been involved in
16005-534: The music business through an internship . Apparently without paying Uptown, Suge obtained the releases of Puff's prime Uptown recruits Jodeci , its producer DeVante Swing , and Mary J. Blige , all then signing with Suge's management company. On September 24, 1995, at Jermaine Dupri's birthday party at the Platinum House nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia, Bad Boy's entourage entered a heated dispute with Suge and Suge's friend Jai Hassan-Jamal "Big Jake" Robles,
16170-456: The music video for "Ice Ice Baby" on the MTV special 25 Lame , in which Ice himself was asked to destroy the video's master tape. When Ice was given a baseball bat, he ended up destroying not only the film but the show's entire set as well. In 2001, DJ ReAnimator remixed "Ice Ice Baby" with Vanilla Ice re-doing his vocals for the track. Ice Ice Baby 2001 was released as a single and music video for
16335-518: The music video. He was a part of The Back2Kool concert tour with Turbo B and MC Hammer, playing worldwide in late 2010, and reunited with his former DJ, Floyd 'Earthquake' Brown, for the shows overseas. In early 2011, Vanilla Ice appeared on the sixth season of the UK show Dancing on Ice , as well as various ice skating tours surrounding the show. In 2009, Ice started filming a reality television series called The Vanilla Ice Project , which premiered on DIY Network on October 14, 2010. The season
16500-509: The name "Def Row" for a potential deal to start another record label under Morgan Creek . However he later sold the naming rights to Dr. Dre and his partners in July 1991 and by 1992 the name changed to its eventual title of Death Row Records . Knight approached Michael "Harry-O" Harris, a businessman imprisoned on drug and attempted murder charges. Through David Kenner, an attorney handling Harris's appeal, Harry-O set up Godfather Entertainment ,
16665-519: The nickname, it stuck. Shortly afterward, Van Winkle started battle rapping at parties and because of his rhymes, his friends started calling him "MC Vanilla". However, when he became a member of a breakdance troupe, Van Winkle's stage name was "Vanilla Ice" combining his nickname "Vanilla" with one of his breakdance moves, "The Ice". When Ice's stepfather was offered a better job in Carrollton, Texas , he moved back to Texas with his mother. When Ice
16830-649: The panto. On May 12, 2012, Vanilla Ice helped in the launch of the Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast roller coaster at Six Flags over Texas in Arlington with a free concert for valid daily park ticket or 2012 Season Pass holders. In mid 2013, Vanilla Ice joined the New Kids on the Block tour alongside Boyz II Men . On September 15, 2013, Vanilla Ice performed at the halftime show of a Houston Texans game. Houston went on to lose
16995-423: The path of bullets he knew were coming. On her website Archived Letters Scott responds to a reader of her book stating that she felt there was never evidence to link Knight to Tupac's murder. Scott also told CNN , "That theory doesn't even add up. 'Open fire on my car, but try not to hit me?'" A 2006 law-enforcement task force probe into Biggie's murder, which included then-LAPD Detective Greg Kading , included
17160-624: The previous three years, Ice took a break from music in and began competing in jet skiing , as well as resuming Motocross racing. After becoming more interested with the Rastafari movement , Ice became a vegetarian, grew dreadlocks and talked more openly about smoking cannabis. Ice then began work on his next album, although by this time he received less publicity and faded from the public spotlight. On March 22, 1994, Ice released his second studio album, Mind Blowin' . Reviews were unfavorable. Entertainment Weekly reviewer James Bernard called
17325-483: The production of a music video for "Ice Ice Baby", which received heavy airplay by The Box , increasing public interest in the song. On the basis of Ice's good looks and dance moves, Public Enemy tried to convince their producer, Hank Shocklee , to sign Ice to Def Jam , but Ice later signed a contract with SBK Records in 1990. During MC Hammer 's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour , Ice served as an opening act. SBK remixed and re-recorded Hooked under
17490-457: The proper accent to adopt. He's able to overcome those flaws somewhat in isolated moments, but they become all too apparent over the course of an entire album. In late 1990, Ice began an eight-month relationship with Madonna , and appeared in photographs for her book, Sex . In the height of Ice's popularity, SBK licensed a 12" doll which was made by THQ. In January 1991, he was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live . Ice branched out into
17655-475: The rapper was in New York and New Jersey at the time. The New York Times called the documents inconclusive stating: The pages purport to be three computer printouts from Daddy's House, indicating that Wallace was in the studio recording a song called Nasty Boy on the afternoon Shakur was shot. They indicate that Wallace wrote half the session, was In and out/sat around and laid down a ref, shorthand for
17820-467: The reason this happened was that Sam Sneed had too many East Coast rappers in his "Lady Heroin" music video. Disillusioned with the direction of Death Row, artists RBX and the D.O.C. chose to leave, after which Suge Knight exercised tighter control over the rest of the roster. Dogg Food was not produced by Dr. Dre but was mixed by Dr. Dre, a further testament to Dre's dwindling involvement with Death Row. Dr. Dre also grew tired of Knight's violence within
17985-408: The release of his debut album Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back , but produced for Big C-Style, and he later formed D.P.G. Recordz . During Knight's incarceration, Death Row released Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 and Too Gangsta for Radio , which both received negative reviews. Both albums had the label's new signees, Tha Realest and YGD Tha Top Dogg , who were criticized for imitating
18150-459: The release of the album, Snoop Dogg was charged with murder , fueling the debate that politicians C. Delores Tucker and vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle sparked by criticizing gangsta rap for being against American values, degrading to black women, and encouraging violence towards police officers. Throughout 1994, Death Row Records released the soundtracks Above the Rim and Murder Was
18315-592: The remaining fourteen games of the season, leading some players to blame Vanilla Ice for the losing streak. In the Western comedy film The Ridiculous Six , released in 2015, Ice portrayed Mark Twain . He also had a non-speaking cameo in another Netflix movie; Sandy Wexler . In 2016, Vanilla Ice competed on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars . He was partnered with professional dancer Witney Carson . They were eliminated on October 4, 2016. On September 16, 2017, Vanilla Ice joined Insane Clown Posse in
18480-482: The rest of the label's core roster. The album, which was released on December 15 and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200 , went on to sell 5.7 million records worldwide, popularizing the distinctive style of G-Funk . The Death Row roster consisted of Dre, Snoop, Daz , Kurupt , Nate Dogg , Lady of Rage , the D.O.C. , Jewell , RBX , and many more. Later on, Death Row artist Lil 1/2 Dead's contract
18645-401: The rights to the Death Row Records trademarks from MNRK Music Group (the renamed eOne Music). The sale did not immediately include rights to the label's catalog, but it was reported that he was nearing a deal to acquire the catalogs of himself and other Death Row artists from MNRK. On February 11, 2022, Snoop Dogg released his third studio album on Death Row Records , marking a 26-year lapse from
18810-480: The road as soon as possible. MC Hammer , an old acquaintance from his club days, had Ice on as an opening act on his tour. Reviews of To the Extreme were mixed. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Mim Udovitch gave the album a B, citing "Ice Ice Baby", "Play That Funky Music", "Dancin'" and "It's a Party" as the album's highlights. Robert Christgau gave the album a C− rating, writing that Ice's "suave sexism, fashionably male supremacist rather than dangerously obscene,
18975-611: The second Gathering of the Juggalos . On October 23, 2001, Ice released the album Bi-Polar . Initially conceived as a double album consisting of one disc of rock music ( Skabz ) and one disc of hip hop music ( Bomb Tha System ), both parts were released on one disc. The album also featured La the Darkman , Perla, Insane Poetry and Bob Kakaha . Bradley Torreano of Allrovi disliked the album, criticizing it as "wildly uneven and at times hilariously bad," but also stating "Vanilla Ice
19140-399: The shooting, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound filmed scenes kicking down a building in New York. The single provoked a response called '" L.A., L.A. " by East Coast rappers Capone-N-Noreaga , Tragedy Khadafi , and Mobb Deep. Another report was that Sam Sneed was beaten in one of the label's meetings by a group of Death Row affiliates, led by Suge Knight and 2Pac. According to Daz Dillinger ,
19305-506: The song " Too Late Playa " (along with Big Daddy Kane and Danny Boy ). After the death of Tupac in 1996, MC Hammer left the label. Formerly a united front of artists, Death Row's roster fractured into separate camps. Daz, now head producer, worked on Snoop Dogg's second album Tha Doggfather , which featured Bad Azz and Techniec of the LBC Crew , Warren G and Nate Dogg of his group 213 and Tha Dogg Pound. 2Pac shut himself into
19470-421: The song "Pimp Slapp'd", in which he repudiated Knight and Death Row. In 2006, Snoop again attacked Knight verbally. Knight responded, stating that Snoop was a "police informer" who "never goes to jail". Knight was known to have a hostile relationship with Eazy-E (Eric Wright), especially during the formation of Death Row Records with Dr. Dre (Andre Young). Knight allegedly attacked Wright after he refused to sign
19635-529: The song included material allegedly written by Knight's client Mario Johnson. Knight and his bodyguards confronted Vanilla Ice several times. There was a rumor that Knight entered Vanilla Ice's hotel room and allegedly dangled him by his ankles off the balcony. However, Vanilla Ice has said that never happened, only that Knight threatened to throw him off the balcony; the claim was resolved in court. Knight next formed an artist management company and signed West Coast hip hop artists DJ Quik and The D.O.C. Through
19800-605: The song was leaked in June. In 2003, Ultrax reissued Bomb Tha System (the second part of "Bi-Polar") under the title Hot Sex , which was a single from the original album. From January to February 2004, Ice appeared on the reality television series The Surreal Life . Although much of the series was staged, Ice found the experience to be therapeutic, stating that a comment made by Tammy Faye Messner during filming, "We are who we are because of who we were", helped him accept his past. On August 2, 2005, Ice released his fifth studio album, Platinum Underground . He stated that
19965-413: The songs and performing them were like therapy, as he had tried to hide his anger when making his older songs but Robinson was the first producer who told him to use it to create. Vanilla Ice was a member of the softball team The Hip Hop Stars alongside Dr. Dre , Snoop Dogg and Method Man in a 1999 game shown on MTV Rock N' Jock . Later in 1999, MTV asked Vanilla Ice to join their cast to "retire"
20130-605: The spotlight for themselves to join Death Row. Eventually, Puff recalled that to preempt severe retaliation from his Bad Boy crew, he had promptly confronted Suge, whose reply—that he had meant Jermaine Dupri , of So So Def Recordings , in Atlanta—was politic enough to deescalate the conflict. Still, among the fans, the previously diffuse rivalry between America's two mainstream rap scenes had instantly flared already. And while in New York, Suge visited Uptown Records , where Puff, under its founder Andre Harrell , had started in
20295-504: The studio with Hurt-M-Badd and Big "D", crafting The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory - unlike All Eyez on Me , it was devoid of high-profile Death Row guest appearances, instead showcasing The Outlawz and Bad Azz, and had a much darker tone. Suge Knight was now barely reachable by his staff, and employees were assaulted as punishment for not following orders. In New York City for the MTV Video Music Awards , 2Pac
20460-409: The styles, looks, and vocals of 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. Also, Dead Man Walkin' , a Snoop Dogg compilation of unreleased recordings, was released without his authorization. Maintaining artistic control from behind bars, Suge Knight launched smear campaigns against his former artists, most notably Snoop Dogg , death threats were exchanged, and Snoop Dogg responded by publicly dissing Suge Knight, leaving
20625-451: The subject of theories in popular culture about the murder of two well-known rap artists. Tupac Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas , Nevada on September 7, 1996, and died six days later on September 13. When Shakur's East Coast rival , The Notorious B.I.G. ( aka Biggie Smalls or Biggie), was murdered in a similar drive-by shooting in Los Angeles , California on March 9, 1997, speculation arose that Knight
20790-463: The success of "Ice Ice Baby", record producer Suge Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood , where Ice was eating. After shoving Ice's bodyguards aside, Knight and his own bodyguards sat down in front of Ice, staring at him before finally asking "How you doin'?" Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions. Eventually, Knight showed up at Ice's hotel suite on
20955-466: The summer, Ice was the world's No. 6-ranked sit-down jet ski racer, competing nearly every weekend and earning a Kawasaki sponsorship. Uncertain about his future career, Ice studied real estate and started working on the side renovating and selling houses. In late 1995, he set up a recording studio in Miami and joined a grunge band, Pickin Scabz. The name was set to reflect Ice's career, and how he
21120-639: The techno stuff and I get into new music. So I thought I'd make a record of it. I did the thing and it was a lot of fun". In December 2011, Ice played Captain Hook in the Chatham, Kent , Central Theatre pantomime production of Peter Pan , a role that previously belonged to Henry Winkler . He also turned on the Christmas lights for Rochester, Kent , in Rochester Castle , as part of the promotion for
21285-552: The title To the Extreme . The reissue contained new artwork and music. According to Ice, SBK paid him to adopt a more commercial, conventional appearance. This led Ice to later regret his business agreements with SBK. To the Extreme became the fastest selling hip hop album of all time, spending sixteen weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and selling eleven million copies. SBK Record executive Monte Lipman stated that he received calls from radio stations reporting over 200 phone calls requesting "Ice Ice Baby". SBK wanted Ice on
21450-477: The title of the album reflected the fact that he could maintain a fanbase without mainstream airplay. Allrovi reviewer Rob Theakston panned the album, writing that it "has more bad spots in it than most". Ice included a song titled Ninja Rap 2 , which was set to be a hardcore remix. Aside from the name, the song has very little connection to Ice's original 1991 single, but rather talks about his appreciation of his fans, his love of performing at clubs and playing at
21615-472: The truck's window. He pled guilty to charges of disorderly conduct four months later and was sentenced to probation and ordered to attend family therapy sessions. Ice's pet wallaroo , Bucky, and pet goat, Pancho, escaped from his wife's grandmother's home in Port St. Lucie, Florida , in November 2004. After wandering around local streets for over a week, the animals were caught and returned to Ice. He paid
21780-455: The world of motocross. He auditioned for the 2002 X Games in the freestyle division and placed seventh at the 2003 Suzuki Crossover challenge, according to Sports Illustrated. He told the magazine that the track "is where I'm happiest." In 2003, Ice contributed vocals to "Off the Chain" by 7x70, a side project of Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain and Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz . A demo of
21945-521: Was 25 years old. 2Pac's " The Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theory " was released in November 1996, just one week before Snoop Dogg's " Tha Doggfather ", which both achieved Multi-Platinum sales. The following months, Death Row released Death Row Greatest Hits , Christmas on Death Row , Gridlock'd , and Gang Related . Nate Dogg 's album, G-Funk Classics, Vol. 1 was supposed to be released on January 14, 1997, but got shelved due to issues at Death Row Records, despite getting released independently as
22110-617: Was a live recording during Vanilla Ice's performance in Miami during his To The Extreme World Tour . Premiering new songs like " Rollin' in My 5.0 ", "Road To My Riches" and "Satisfaction", the album peaked at #30 on the Billboard 200 , but it received mainly negative reviews. Entertainment Weekly reviewer David Browne called it "one of the most ridiculous albums ever released", comparing it to The Best of Marcel Marceau , an album which consisted of two sides of silence opened by brief applause. According to Browne, Extremely Live "affords you
22275-603: Was auctioned to WIDEawake Entertainment for $ 18 million on January 15, 2009. The owner of WIDEawake went bankrupt in 2012; the label was sold to Entertainment One , and it then became a division of Hasbro until April 2021, when eOne Music was sold to the Blackstone Group . Snoop Dogg bought Death Row from MNRK Music Group in February 2022, intending to revive the label. In 1987, N.W.A 's Dr. Dre signed to Eazy-E 's Ruthless Records . As head of production at
22440-612: Was done following a party at the Peterson Automotive Museum. Poochie later survived a murder attempt in 2000, but was killed in 2003. Charges were never brought against Fouse or Knight and the task force disbanded for reasons of "internal affairs". After Shakur's death and the release of Tha Doggfather , Snoop Dogg openly criticized Knight for the murder of Shakur and left the label in 1998. He signed with Master P's No Limit Records and then forming his own record label, Doggystyle Records . In 2002, Snoop released
22605-409: Was eating. After shoving Van Winkle's bodyguards aside, Knight sat down in front of Van Winkle, staring at him before asking "How you doin'?" Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions, including alleged attempts to lure Vanilla Ice into a van filled with Bloods and Crips , before Knight showed up at Vanilla Ice's hotel suite on the 15th floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by Johnson and
22770-496: Was focused on renovating a house in Palm Beach, Florida, with each episode dedicated to a different room in the house. In 2011, Ice published a book on the subject, Vanilla Ice Project – Real Estate Guide , on how to succeed in real estate. The book was made available as a free digital download on his real estate website. The second season began airing in January 2012, the third season in January 2013. In June 2011, Ice filmed
22935-433: Was focusing all of his energy on motocross, winning three championships. After breaking his ankle during a race, Ice was not interested in racing professionally for some time, using his spare time to perfect his dance moves and creating his own while his ankle was healing. Ice used his beatboxing and breakdancing skills as a street performer with his friends at local malls during this time. One evening he visited City Lights,
23100-405: Was foul play involved in the death of his father, also suggesting that Ice Cube might have been involved. Wright's daughter, Ebie Wright, started a fund campaign to investigate her father's death. It ended unsuccessfully in 2016. In 2023, Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony , a group that worked closely with Wright prior to his death, stated in an interview he initially strongly believed Knight
23265-566: Was getting". Ice attempted suicide with a heroin overdose on July 4, 1994, but was revived by his friends. After being revived, Ice decided that it was time to change his lifestyle. As a symbol of his attempt to begin anew, he got a tattoo of a leaf on his stomach. After expanding his Mind Blowin tour overseas in 1995, Ice sold his estate in California and took a break from music, rather focusing on motocrossing and jet skiing in Florida. By
23430-569: Was healing from his suicide attempt, and that he was now "picking up the pieces". In 1996, longtime associate and friend Monte Lipman signed Ice for Universal Republic Records . He did guest vocals with no stage name for the song "Boom" by Bloodhound Gang on their CD One Fierce Beer Coaster . Ice later developed a friendship with producer Ross Robinson , who had become known for producing music by Deftones , Korn , Limp Bizkit and Sepultura . Robinson and Ice shared an interest in motocross racing. Monte Lipman hoped that Robinson would produce
23595-643: Was held for everything found in Death Row's office after it filed for bankruptcy. Of note was the Death Row electric chair which went for US$ 2,500. Lavi was removed from WIDEawake and Robert Thompson-So of New Solutions took over day-to-day operations. Lavi then sued her former company WIDEawake, along with New Solutions and Thompson-So in New York County Court on November 19, 2009. WIDEawake issued previously unreleased material from such artists as Kurupt, Danny Boy, Crooked I , Sam Sneed , LBC Crew , Jewell and O.F.T.B. Dr. Dre's, The Chronic Re-Lit
23760-636: Was in Las Vegas with Tupac the night of his death. Hammer released 2Pac's " Unconditional Love ", on his Family Affair album, in 1998. The friendships between Hammer (played by Romany Malco ), Tupac (played by Lamont Bentley ) and Suge (played by Anthony Norris ) were depicted in the television film, Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story (airing on VH1 in 2001). Dr. Dre , frustrated with the company's increasingly thuggish reputation and Knight's violent inclinations, left and formed his own label, Aftermath Entertainment , in March 1996. Though never charged by any prosecutor for any involvement, Suge Knight has been
23925-410: Was interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live , where he mentioned a method of murder by injecting someone with blood that is infected with HIV/AIDS. This interview sparked conspiracy theories that Knight, due to his hostile relationship with him, killed Wright by injecting him with a syringe that contained HIV/AIDS infected blood. Wright's oldest son, who goes by Yung Eazy, stated that he believes that there
24090-406: Was interviewed on Death Row East , an East Coast subsidiary branch of Death Row. It was also during this time that Alex Roberts and David Kenner had been seen at Suge Knight's Vegas Club 662, in discussion about the possibility of having Roberts' New York underworld connections help pave the way for Death Row East. The record label was supposed to be run by Eric B. and Big D with Craig Mack being
24255-470: Was involved and that Biggie's death was a revenge killing. Former Death Row artists, including Snoop Dogg, also later accused Knight of being involved in Tupac's murder. Ex-detective Russell Poole conjectured that Knight had Tupac killed before he could part ways with Knight's label and then conspired to kill Biggie to divert attention from himself in the Tupac case. The Biggie murder theory implicated Knight,
24420-513: Was not learning to ride motorbikes, he was dancing as a street performer with his breakdancing group, now called The Vanilla Ice Posse . Ice wrote " Ice Ice Baby " at the age of 16, basing its lyrics on a weekend he had with friend and disc jockey D-Shay in South Florida. The lyrics describe Ice and Shay on a drug run that ends in a drive-by shooting while praising Ice's rhyming skills. He attended R. L. Turner High School . In 1985, he
24585-407: Was ordered by a Florida court to stay away from his wife following his arrest, and to communicate with his children only if Morales accompanied him. The judge told Ice that he could only contact his wife through telephone. On April 29, 2008, Ice's lawyers, Bradford Cohen and Joseph LoRusso, were able to get the charges dropped after providing the state attorney with evidence that conflicted with what
24750-465: Was originally called Future Shock , both the D.O.C and Suge Knight's business associate Michael "Harry-O" Harris have claimed to have suggested changing the name of the new label to ' Def Row' (a play on Def Jam ), but rights to the name were already owned by the Unknown DJ , who also happened to be one of Dre's former music associates in the 1980s. Unknown stated in an interview that he created
24915-415: Was originally reported. In February 2015, Ice was arrested and charged with residential burglary and grand theft after he allegedly stole furniture, a pool heater, bicycles and other items from a Florida home that he believed to be vacant. He later accepted a plea deal which would result in the charges being dropped following his completion of 100 hours of community service and payment of restitution to
25080-488: Was put up for auction in Bankruptcy Court. The winning bid went to New York-based company Global Music Group . Global Music Group failed to secure funding and the Death Row Records catalog eventually went to Wideawake Entertainment. On January 25, 2009, an auction was held for everything found in the Death Row Records office after the company filed for bankruptcy, including some of Knight's personal items. Of note
25245-611: Was receiving death threats from gangsters connected to Knight. The same year, Knight offered to post bail ( US$ 1.4 million ) for Tupac Shakur if the rapper agreed to sign with Death Row. Shakur agreed, setting the stage for his 1996 double album All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory . M.C. Hammer's relationship with Suge Knight dates back to 1988. With the success of Hammer's 1994 album The Funky Headhunter (featuring Tha Dogg Pound ), Hammer signed with Death Row Records by 1995, along with Snoop Dogg and his close friend, Tupac. The label did not release
25410-421: Was released October 13, 2009 and contained 15 previously unreleased tracks, including some produced by Dr. Dre. Death Row: The Ultimate Collection was released on November 24 and was a special box set containing three audio CDs (one greatest hits disc and two discs of unreleased content), one DVD of music videos including the unreleased Dr. Dre music video "Puffin' On Blunts". On December 5, 2012, Jonathan Hay,
25575-575: Was released as the album's first single, with "Ice Ice Baby" appearing as the B-side . Tommy Quon personally sent out the single to various radio stations around the U.S., but the single was seldom played and when it was, it did not get the reaction Quon was hoping for. When disc jockey Darrell Jaye in Georgia played "Ice Ice Baby" instead of the single's A-side, the song gained a quick fanbase and other radio stations followed suit. Quon financed $ 8,000 for
25740-504: Was released on August 19 through Radium Records. While the record featured an array of different styles, like other recent Vanilla Ice albums, it also featured Ice's return to Electronica , with songs like "Turn It Up", "Rock Star Party", "Nightmare Disco" and "Cadillac Ninjas". Regarding the new record and its numerous musical genres, Ice said, "It's like techno hip-hop. European. I live a lot in Europe, and when I'm over there I get way into
25905-474: Was released on September 1, 2009 and contained The Chronic remastered with seven unreleased songs featuring Snoop Dogg, CPO, Kurupt, Jewell, and a bonus DVD containing a Dr. Dre interview, a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg mini movie, and television commercials for the original The Chronic . The album also contained a scene from an unfinished feature film entitled, SAIGON, CA, which was to launch WIDEawake's film studio. Death Row The Lost Sessions Vol 1 by Snoop Dogg
26070-513: Was released; soon after, citing dissatisfaction with serving five years on the label and seeing no release, Rapper Crooked I left Death Row, eventually filing a gag order on Knight to prevent him from interfering with him finding a new deal. Petey Pablo , who had signed in 2005 and started the never-released album Same Eyez on Me , left along with rapper Tha Realest in 2006. On April 4, 2006, both Death Row Records and Suge Knight simultaneously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following
26235-533: Was responsible for Wright's death, but eventually came to the conclusion Knight wasn't involved. Knight, who was affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods , hired members from this gang to work for Death Row Records. Knight also hired members of two other Blood sets, Fruit Town Piru and Lueders Park Piru . By the early 2000s, a rivalry developed between the Mob Piru and the Fruit Town Piru, which resulted in
26400-540: Was scheduled to appear in various reality TV programs. Ice, still an entertainer at heart, felt that the experience would be good for him. In 2002, he appeared on Celebrity Boxing, fighting Todd Bridges under the name 'Bi-Polar'. In 2003, he appeared in five episodes of Hollywood Squares , eight episodes of The Farm and three episodes of Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, and made a cameo appearance in The New Guy in 2002. Around this time, Vanilla Ice also returned to
26565-531: Was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and is eligible for parole in October 2034, when he will be 69 years old. Knight was born in Compton, California , the son of Maxine (née Dikemen) and Marion Knight Sr. His name Suge (pronounced /ʃʊɡ/ ) derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname. He attended Lynwood High School in nearby Lynwood , where he was a football and track star. He graduated in 1983. Knight
26730-474: Was sold to Priority Records where he released his debut album The Dead Has Arisen . After Snoop Dogg found solo success through his features on The Chronic, Dre began producing Snoop Dogg 's debut album Doggystyle throughout 1993. Snoop's debut was released on November 23, 1993 due to public demand and high pressure from retailers. Though unfinished, it outperformed The Chronic at Quadruple Platinum , and garnered similarly glowing reviews. Soon after
26895-585: Was soon offered and starred in his own film, Cool as Ice (1991), which included the single " Cool as Ice (Everybody Get Loose) " with Naomi Campbell ; the film itself was a box office failure. His fast rise in popularity was quickly marred by media controversies about his background, and criticism about his appeal of hip hop to a mainstream audience alongside MC Hammer . Ice later regretted his business arrangements with SBK, who had also published fabricated biographical information without his knowledge. Ice's second studio album, Mind Blowin' (1994), featured
27060-415: Was the Death Row Records electric chair which sold for $ 2,500. Some of Knight's personal items appeared in an auction during the debut episode of A&E's Storage Wars , and a vault full of items (including a coat) was purchased by featured buyer Barry Weiss. On November 3, 1989, Knight married Sharitha Lee Golden in Las Vegas. In October 2023, Suge Knight co-founded a podcast with Breakbeat Media. In
27225-588: Was unable to attend, but Donald Trump Jr. captured Ice's performance on his cellphone. New Year's Eve 2020 was also the younger Trump's 43rd birthday. Notable attendees included Don Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle , Rudy Giuliani , Sean Spicer and others. In June 2021, Ice narrated a BBC Radio 5 Live documentary podcast covering the theft of the racehorse Shergar . Vanilla Ice dated Madonna for eight months in 1991–1992. Ice married Laura Giaritta in 1997; they have two daughters, Dusti Rain (born 1998) and KeeLee Breeze (born 2000). Ice describes himself as
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