He might be sitting in a prison cell, but former Death Row Records executive Suge Knight always has something to say. It’s clear he has a lot of time on his hands — as he continues to serve out his 28-year bid– and as a former music industry insider, many of Knight’s seemingly wild theories don’t sound too far from the truth.
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From spilling the tea surrounding rapper Tupac Shakur’s untimely death to outing allegedly “closeted” straight men in the industry, here are some of the many… and we mean many… theories out the mouth of Knight, a man who’s reputation precedes himself by any standard.
Diddy Allegedly Put a Bounty Out on Tupac
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Knight got real about the night he and rapper Tupac Shakur were targeted in a drive by shooting, which resulted in Shakur’s death. Thirty years later, Duane “Keefe D” Davis was arrested for the 1997 murder, and he told investigators Sean “Diddy” Combs offered him $1 million to “handle the problem.”
Diddy, of course, denied any involvement in the murder, but Knight claims the opposite is true.“I end up with a bullet an inch into my skull, but at the same time, everybody knows where a million dollars came from,” he said. “Like what would Pac want? What he really want is truth. I believe that if something smells like s**t, look like s**t, it’s s**t.”
Suge Makes Claims About Russell Simmons
In an episode of his “Collect Call” podcast– which as the name states, centers around collect calls from prison– Knight dropped a bombshell accusation against Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, we previously reported. According to him, Simmons and Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell were in a homosexual relationship. “Everybody knew…they might not wanna say it, but they was lovers,” Knight said in the episode. He went on to say this is a common thing in the industry. “These men in the industry don’t consider theyself gay. They consider theyselves messing with women and they don’t really like women because they beat the s**t out of them,” he continued.
Diddy Is an FBI Informant
In another episode of his podcast, Knight claimed Diddy has been an FBI informant for a long time and that most people in the industry already knew this. “Puffy been an FBI informant forever, as they would say. That’s why it’s different when it comes to him,” Knight said of Diddy. “His exes in the industry knew about it. Everybody in his crew knew about it. The b*****s he dates knew about it. Everybody knew about it. So don’t push away from it now.” There’s no evidence to support his claim.
Tupac’s Mother Rushed to Get Him Cremated
Soon after Tupac was declared dead, Knight said his mother, Afeni Shakur, rushed to get his body cremated. “She came up to me and said, ‘Get it done. Now,’” Knight alleged to PEOPLE. He was initially reluctant to move forward because of a conversation he said he had with Pac before his killing. “He told me, ‘When I go, I want every rapper at my funeral to grab the mic. I want them to kiss me head to toe. Just like in ‘Life Goes On.’” Knight paused. “He didn’t want to be cremated.” Still, he obliged, and Tupac’s body was ultimately cremated.
Knight’s Truth About J.Lo
At the same time that controversy surrounding Diddy took over headlines, so did the fact that his former girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, and her then-husband, actor Ben Affleck, had broken up. Although the cause of their problems– and later divorce– was never revealed, Knight theorized it had something to do with her history with Diddy. He said the FBI allegedly shared compromising footage of J. Lo taken during the raids of Diddy’s homes. And when Affleck found out about it, he called a quits. “I’m quite sure they headed for divorce because that’s a man [Affleck] who had a good life,” he claimed. “He’s living his life. He got his own team. She [Lopez] done brought all that extra shit out and now…He want out.”
Tupac Is Still Alive..?
Back in 2017, Knight did an interview with rapper Ice-T and American broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien and suggested he believes Tupac is still alive. “When I left that hospital, me and Pac was laughing and joking,” Knight said. “So I don’t see how somebody could turn from doing well to doing bad.” Despite being shot multiple times and being scheduled for additional surgeries, Tupac was reportedly in good spirits on the night of his passing. When asked if he really believed Pac is still alive somewhere, he responded, “With Pac… you never know.”
Was Ray J. Involved in Whitney Houston’s Death?
Knight sat down for an interview with “The Art Of Dialogue” to share his theory about what led to the untimely death of singer Whitney Houston. He said Houston and singer Ray J had a strong bond, and he used to buy her drugs. “She just used the term that ‘Brandy’s little brother bringing me drugs and doing drugs with me,’” Knight said. “’Brandy’s little brother trying to kiss me and do drugs with me.’ Next thing you know, she’s dead.”
Drake’s ‘Death Row’ Chain Is Fake… According to Suge Knight
Last month, Canadian rapper Drake revealed he purchased a Death Row chain that reportedly belonged to Tupac. But according to Knight, that can’t be true. “He’s [Pac] like, ‘Shit, you my big bro. Let me wear yours, that’s more important. I don’t want a first one, I want to wear the one you got.’…That’s not 2Pac’s chain. It’s not a Death Row chain,” Knight said. “Whoever sold you that chain, Drake, you need to go beat his motherf*cking ass. He played you.”
Tupac’s Alleged Last Words
On the night Tupac died, he was shot multiple times. As we reported, once at the hospital, Knight claimed Shakur expressed fears about returning to prison. The rapper allegedly believed the infamous casino altercation– which was caught on camera hours before his own shooting– would be used to revoke his freedom. “I’ll die before I go back,” Shakur allegedly told folks around him. “Kill me. Shoot me,” he said. Knight allegedly refused saying, “No, Pac. We can’t do it.”
Suge Knight’s Advice to Diddy
Although Knight and Diddy are long time rivals, the former Death Row boss gave his insight on Diddy’s racketeering case and what should’ve happened. He advised him to take the stand. “If Puffy got on the stand and told the truth I know he would walk,” he said in an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.” Knight continued, “If he got on the stand and said ‘Look, I’m gay and straight. I mess with guys. I mess with women. I do it all.’ Puffy’s not guilty for the things he did to these people. He’s guilty for being a cold freaky man who wants freaky things done to him.” He later said Diddy should “definitely” be found not guilty. In July, the Bad Boy mogul was acquitted on racketeering charges.
What Happened to Tupac’s Ashes
Knight claimed after Tupac’s body was cremated, a group of Pac’s close friends got together to honor him. They allegedly passed around the bag containing his cremated ashes and rolled some up into a blunt and smoked. “I was so happy to say I was on probation — I couldn’t smoke,” Knight stated. “I told his mother, ‘Moms, I’d love to, but if I hit that, I’ll get in trouble.’” He laughed. “I was probably the only one who didn’t hit him.”
Why Diddy’s Close Friends Hadn’t Spoken Out Against Him
While Diddy was on trial fighting for his freedom in a sex trafficking and racketeering case, Knight was very outspoken on the issue. In an interview with Aubrey O’Day, he gave his theory on why many people close to Combs hadn’t spoken out. “The reason why they’re so silent is this: They are so scared,” Knight said. “They are slaves. These people are slaves to these people.” He continued saying Combs’ associates aren’t afraid of potential threats of violence against them. “They’re not scared of the guns and the knives. They’re not scared of the streets. They’re scared of the people in the suites,” Knight continued.
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