On August 3, 1995, Suge Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, famously took the stage at The Source Awards to accept the "Motion Picture Soundtrack of the Year" honor on behalf of his label for a film called Above the Rim. On that infamous night, several emcees who would become some of the greatest rappers of all time were on hand. Recording artists such as Outkast, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Notorious B.I.G. were all sitting in the crowd. Some of them had just barely entered their prime, and they were all eager to represent their home, whether it was the West Coast, East Coast, Dirty South, or the Midwest. Ever the ambitious entrepreneur, Suge Knight took advantage of a rare opportunity to speak in front of a national audience by indicating that if any rapper in the crowd wanted to reach their potential, his company was far better equipped for the job than Diddy and his New York City-based label, Bad Boy Records.
“Any artist out there that wants to be an artist or stay a star — and don’t want to worry about an executive producer trying to be all the videos, all on the records, dancing — come to Death Row,” Suge said as the anxious crowd murmured.
For many hip-hop historians, various incidents led to the famous East Coast vs. West Coast rap rivalry. Still, according to Rolling Stone Magazine, Suge Knight's words added fuel to the fire that would not be put out until years later, after 2Pac and Biggie were both lost to gun violence. Hence, Rolling Stone Magazine recently deemed Suge Knight's choice to call out Diddy and Bad Boy publically as the "20th Worst Decision in Music History."
Source: Rolling Stone
