While everyone wondered who killed Tupac, Snoop blamed the man that was driving the car he got shot in that night. The most feared figure in all of hip hop. You put all of our lives in jeopardy like that, you don't care about Pac. And confronted him face to face. Come up to my room, ain't gonna be nobody in there, just me and you. This either the moment you - gonna kill me, or we gonna get some clarity in this air. But did Snoop Dogg know something was going to happen that night? The next day when we turned on the news, all we seen was the yellow tape and it just was all bad. Shakur was shot four times after leaving the Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas in a car driven by Marion Suge Knight, the head of his label Death Row Records. So I jumped in my Hummer and we drove to Vegas. Suge was at home, he was standing up, but he had like a patch up. His head was wrapped up and he came and explained to us as far as what had happened. But he was explaining it to us like joyful. He was like, “Man, when them n***** started shooting at us, Tupac was trying to jump in the backseat." I'm like, "N****, get down." I pull him down and... You know, and he was saying it like Pac was going live. You know what I'm saying like? Because that must have been the spirit that Pac showed him. Like even when he said he was driving to the hospital. So I jumped right on the highway to see him. I had a chance to sit there with him. At that time, me and him really wasn't, we wasn't eye to eye. It was all bad. It was all bad. He was my friend before Death Row. When I f****** met him at the "Poetic Justice" wrap party. So I get to the party, and the DJ put something on. And he like, "Yeah, I got my little cousin Snoop Dogg in the house, gonna come up here and rap." Before he could get me the mic n****, Tupac grabbed the mic. He'd say his little verse. You got the mic. He take it back. We like rapping at each other, like sorta of kind of aggressive. We do like four or five raps, n*****, everybody in the party like just made a f****** circle now. We finish rapping, we go outside. I'm like, "Let me get your number cuz, I'mma holla at you." And fell in love with that n****. I was like "Cuz this n**** hard!" So I suggested to Suge that man, we need to put cuz with us because he already get down like we get down. He needs a team. You know, we are the best team out here and we need him because he's going to make our team better. Like we're great, but with him we'll be the greatest. Were you guys intimidated at all to work going in the studio together? Nah. He bring the best outta me. You know what I'm saying? Snoop took the baton and he ran with it. But Tupac got the baton, he took Death Row to the next level. Next year, Death Row gonna start printing our own money. But Snoop Dogg started to notice Suge Knight's growing influence on Tupac. I think Suge steered him where he wanted to be. Pac wanted that. He wanted the glamorous gangster mafia lifestyle. He wanted it and Suge gave it to him. Suge was great at giving you what you wanted. If he loved you, boy he loved you. Death Row was a Death Row family. But if he hated you, he hated you. Controversial CEO of Death Row Records, the most feared figure in all of hip-hop. Vicious assaults, beatings, pistol whipping. If it wasn't for him, I don't know what I would've did. This guy was gonna go to jail for 25 years of life. I wasn't late to put up almost $5 million for attorney's fees, to have 50, 60 guys escort him in the court building so he wouldn't get beat up. He was the fixer, the cleaner. Yeah. Something's wrong, he knows what to do. I look at it like, if I'm with you, I'm with you. If we're on the same team, I'm gonna do what I can to always help you. But Snoop Dogg was worried about the kind of help Tupac wanted from Suge. Pac had the spirit of animosity, revenge, retaliation. Shakur has accused rappers Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. of involvement in his New York shooting. Pac was like, "Look, I go to New York, I go to the studio. These n***** set me up and shot me, period." I was like, "Well s***, you with us." "Your friends is my friends. Your enemies are my enemies." And I never felt like they had something to do with it because it just didn't feel right. They was his friends at the time. N***** shot me five times, I came outta jail and sold 5 million. Them n***** can't f*** with us. That's how we do it. You know the players is on the West side. F*** that peace s***. I ain't even trying to make peace. F*** them all. If somebody was gonna mess with Pac, I'm gonna be right by his side. They created a war. They were fueling each other's fire. Like they was tit for tat. Like nobody would put water. And things escalated beyond just Tupac and Biggie. When you see a Vibe magazine, when you see Puff and Biggie on the cover and see East versus West, n***** in the hood don't read articles. They just see East versus West. Oh, it's on. It's on. When I see them n*****, it's on. They were checking to see who could win in a physical confrontation, whose camps could win if the two met up with one another. We got strength in numbers. We already run the streets out here. All these suckers. They battling off of East and West like this is a game. This ain't no game. If this was chess, we'd be yelling checkmate three mother f****** years ago 'cause we've been beat these - It's not a game. These days, it doesn't take much to start a gang war. What started out as music to inform has turned into music that incites. Gang violence in Los Angeles and three people are dead. The shootings were part of warfare. The East West thing is not a Snoop Dogg problem. If it's personal, it needs to stay personal and y'all need to deal with it and handle it if it's a problem and handle it and keep it outta our faces. I've been dealing with this my whole life. They don't play with s*** like this. Rapper Tupac Shakur put out a diss track insinuating he slept with Biggie's wife, fanning more flames to the East versus West war. When he played it for me, I was like, "Cuz, I ain't really feeling that cuz... that's” You thought he took it too far. We wanna make sure we mash they ass like we did Biggie. You see that n**** quiet as a f****** church mouse. You buying more problems, cuz. There is no mercy in my heart. If you gonna act like you a gangster or a G or the king of New York, I'mma expect that. And when you don't come through, then I'm going to crush your empire. And that's what it's time for. And just a few days later, what Snoop Dogg feared became a reality. Tupac Shakur has been taken to a hospital where he remains in critical condition. He is being surrounded by friends and family hoping for a recovery. When I went to go see him, that ain't what I got. He wasn't moving, he wasn't talking, he wasn't breathing on his own. His mama, she pulled me to the side and that's when I knew it was bad 'cause she telling me to be strong and all this, and I’m like... He laid up and I just get right on the side of his head and just start talking to him in his ear, just talking to him. It was some other s***, cuz. Then as soon as I walked outta there, I went in the bathroom and I threw up. Did you know at that moment or early on that Pac wasn't gonna make it? No. That's Superman cuz. I thought he was coming outta that. We seen it before. I watched him do it before. So I was like, "He'll be all right. He gonna come out of it," and... that s*** broke my heart. I mean, we all felt like that, you know? Because we were Death Row and that's the life we was living. We felt like we was untouchable until that fatal day. While Snoop Dogg was grieving, Suge Knight was sent to prison for violating his parole on the night of the shooting. But that didn't stop Suge from wanting revenge. When Tupac got shot, my main concern was keeping the family together. There's no time to be weak. There's no time to feel bad or sorry for nobody's self. If there's something need to be done, something need to be done. In Compton, California, a gang war and five day bloodbath apparently left three men dead and 10 wounded. Some of our shootings may be in retaliation for the events that happened in Las Vegas. Police say they've had 12 shootings and an increase of violence in Compton since September 7th. And we was right in the middle of all of that madness and the deaths and the tragedy. He didn't realize how much influence he had, but he was very influenced by... Snoop believed Suge had something to do with Tupac’s death. It was a dark alley and he was the leader, he led us. When you put all of our lives in jeopardy like that, you don't care and that's what happened, our lives was in jeopardy. I started to see that Death Row wasn't for me. I'm here to make good music. That's what I signed my contract to Death Row records for, to make good music and perform and put out good albums. I didn't sign a contract to hurt nobody or make people hate me or hate people. I've been there, I've done that. So I'm gonna go this route. You know what I'm saying? After years of being on Death Row Records, Snoop Dogg has decided to jump ship to the No Limit Soldiers record label, leaving unwanted problems behind. This did not sit well with Suge because Snoop would not take his side and Suge demanded loyalty. Either motherf****** are riding with us or they riding against us. Ain't no in between either. You with us or against us. Those who not with us, you nothing. It began to turn on me after that now. It was animosity, it was bitter. You lose your biggest star. Then I started hearing, "They gonna f*** you up. They gonna cut your head, they gonna do this." And then he had Crips working for him that was going to do something to me. If it wasn't for Suge Knight, he was still being in somebody’s cell making dinner, washing clothes. Suge Knight recently said he used to be a superstar and now he's just a No Limit Soldier. What do you say to that? Nothing. He used to be a CEO, now he's just an inmate. Thanks a lot. While Snoop thought he was now safe, Suge was about to show that he could still get to him. We was at the Universal, n*****. I was with No Limit. We was at the show. While we sitting on the inside, Death Row guys walk up. He come in and peace, smiling, shaking my hands, walk me in the corner talking to me, now the other ones surround him. Five minutes later it's about seven of them around me. I ain't paying attention. So the Soldiers then went on stage, now I'm back here talking to these Death Row n***** by myself. So now they were like, "You owe Suge an apology." I'm like, "F*** Suge, n****." N**** were like, "What?" N**** tried to take off on me. Whoa, he missed. I get outta there. And Snoop just comes flying by... Master P and them get the word while they on stage. They literally ran off the stage in the middle of the performance. And boom, boom, boom and everybody was running out the gates so we was POW, run after them. Now a riot is happening. I get a whiz-ay. No cuts, no scars, no hits, no nothing. But I run right into the law with weed in my pocket and everything 'cause I'm trying to save my life. As soon as we come out the door, we got officers drawing, pumps in our faces and helicopter. "Get on the ground!" They didn't know where Snoop was. They're screaming, "Where the f*** is Snoop? Snoop all right?" Snoop Dogg managed to escape Suge's attack, but he started to become reckless. I was gonna make a record dissing Death Row. Like f*** Death Row. 'Cause I just didn't give a f*** at that time. They was coming after me, I was finna come after them. Suge Knight's a b**** and that's on my life. And I will end your s*** if you keep talking s*** on Crip. This was Suge's message to Snoop. Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight celebrating his newfound freedom after serving five years for a probation violation. Hey you know there is still nothing changed! Death Row's back, back on the streets, back in the clubs. You're outta jail, you're on parole. Is LA divided now between where Suge goes and where Snoop goes? Yes. Suge goes everywhere in LA. Snoop goes nowhere in LA. He can't go nowhere without 20 people holding his hand. I look at it in a way where I'mma respect you, you're going to respect me... If you can't respect me, I'm gonna teach you how to respect me. Now that Suge was out, Snoop was constantly looking over his shoulder. But something was about to make things worse. I just got off stage and I was ready to go back to the house. I pull up about a block and a half, before I know it, a hundred police pull up on me and they all drawing down with real guns and they not playing. So they finally come over, pull me out the car, start talking to me and they like, well, do I know this particular guy? I'm like, "Nah." And they start saying, "Well, he knows you and he says that he sold you this gun, that gun, that gun and that gun. You can play dumb all you want. We have your wife and kids under arrest and we will run through your whole house. So either you going to tell us where the guns are or we gonna put your family through hell." And I had to think, my daughter is in the house, my son is in the house. Do I really want them to go through this bulls*** that I'm trained for? This doesn't bother me but they never seen this. So I said, "You know what? If I give you a couple of guns, will you leave my house and let my wife and kids go?" So I told 'em, "I have a gun here, one here and one there. And that's the only guns I got in my house." He put the call in, let my wife and 'em go. And then I had to take this probatioin. That... made me fire every security that I had around me because everyone who had a criminal record couldn't be around me. It's a violation. So I had to fire all my security. I had no guns in my life and n***** wanted to kill me. So imagine that. Snoop Dogg was again facing death, but this time he was at his most vulnerable. He now had to take a long look at how things got to this. It broke me, man. It broke my spirit. Win my murder case, Tupac get killed, Death Row want to kill me. That's all in the same year. I don't really understand death and I never did. And even as a kid, my homies started dying from gang banging like all the time. Like n***** I went to school with and play football with. It was like you don't become numb to it, but it's like, it's a feeling of, okay, all right, I guess this is what it's supposed to be. And I look back at all of the rappers that was writing about death, they all dead. Our pen is what we was writing. "I hope I live to see 21 and blah blah, this and that. And I know I ain't gonna make it and death around the corner and I'm ready to die." That's the era we come from, to prepare ourselves for death. And it just made me feel like my pen created this. I got a baby, I got a wife. Yeah. I got s*** to live for. I wanted to live. Snoop Dogg knew he had to face Suge Knight one last time. I seen him in Vegas. I was moving around doing my thing. And I turn around and my security, he immediately on him. Boom! Suge like, "Doggy Dogg! Man, tell this n**** I ain't tripping, man. Tell this n**** to kick back!" I said, "All right n****, check it out. You know where I'm at." He said, "Let me come holler at you." I said, "Let me finish with this real quick." What was the temperature at that point between the relationship? Hot. Right, okay. Hot. Like I had n***** that wanted to right... they seen him before I did. Right. I had to tell them, "Let me holler." Right. So this is what I do. I say, "When I finish with this little woo wop I'm with, I'm gonna have my folks come down here and tell you what room I'm in. And then when you come up to my room, ain't gonna be nobody in there, just me and you." About 45 minutes I send my n**** down, "Go get cuz and tell him to come up." I said, "Matter of fact, don't even come up with him. I want him to feel comfortable. Matter of fact, give him the room key." Come on in. The whole conversation is, "N****, I loved you, n****. I could have saved you. I had nothing but love for you." And his conversation was, "N****, I love you. I ain't got nothing but love for you." "Well, why did you try to get me bop-bopped when you loved me? There's n***** outside that want your head right now. You know what? I forgive you. I ain't gonna do nothing to you. You gonna go and walk up out here and we gonna be cool from this day forward." And we've been straight. I wasn't ready to go to war. And then I was like, "F*** that, I gotta defend my pride." But my pride would've got me killed. Sometimes you gotta be smarter than the average bear. You gotta know and understand why you here. And looking at my family and where I want to be and how I gotta prepare myself in order to be here. And that's what forced me to find a new path. I started writing life. So my pen became more, I'm gonna live my life. Let me have fun. Let me live a little bit. And I'm gonna wake up tomorrow. And then my life became that as well. I made it out barely. So I wanna give my kids a better chance to make it out, by putting them in an environment where they have less to deal with. They have no gang activity. They're not worrying about getting shot at, looking over their shoulders, this and that. When I was younger, I had no respect. I just did whatever I wanted to do. But as I become a grown man- It's my job to do what's right. You have to start doing some things that matter for the future. I just feel like out of that tree, something had to fall. It's always a great family portrait in the beginning. And by the end, there's two or three key people in that family picture that's gone. But then there's something that's still there and they keeping the legacy going on from just surviving. Just being able to be peaceful and be smart enough to say that I'm gonna leave that behind and I'm just gonna smile a little bit and be me. To make people happy, to inspire, to influence. And me personally, I love the fact that people love me and follow me. I wanna be loved while I'm here. And only way to get love is to give love.
