Suge Knight Allegedly Spat In Lyor Cohen's Face Over Snoop Dogg Bid

Suge Knight got disrespectful after Lyor Cohen's counteroffer to sign Snoop Dogg to Def Jam.

BYAron A.
Collage-Maker-07-Mar-2023-12-47-PM-7216

Suge Knight’s disdain for the East Coast apparently resulted in Lyor Cohen getting a loogie to the face. In a recent interview on the Boss Talk 101 podcast, former Death Row executive Reggie Wright Jr., recounted the time Def Jam tried to sign Snoop Dogg to the label. At the time, Island Def Jam Music Group recruited Lyor Cohen as co-president of the label and he tried to bring Snoop Dogg over to the label. However, first, he would have to go through Suge Knight.

Wright Jr. explained that Cohen paid a visit to Suge Knight in prison to negotiate a deal. Suge told Cohen that he would need to pay him $13M to sign Snoop to the label. Due to Columbia’s ownership of Def Jam, Lyor Cohen needed to run the number by the board. While Def Jam began to regain its footing, once again, thanks to Montell Jordan and Warren G, they were trying to flesh out their roster further. Jay-Z, Method Man, and Redman undoubtedly helped but the addition to Snoop was the next step to level up with the addition of a West Coast legend.

Suge Knight’s Response To Cohen

Wright Jr. said Def Jam was willing to enter a multi-million dollar deal to sign Snoop Dogg. However, they weren’t necessarily willing to cough up as much as Suge wanted. “He comes and offers Suge $7 million. ‘Tell Lyor the most that I can get for Snoop is $7 million.’ Suge never really liked the East Coasters or labels or whatever. And I’m like, ‘Okay, Lyor, yeah, we got a deal,’” Reggie Wright Jr. recalled in the interview.

Evidently, Suge wasn’t necessarily feeling the counteroffer. According to Wright Jr., he dished a repulsive response when he declined the $7M proposal. “Suge goes and tells Lyor, ‘No.’ Spits in Lyor face. Spits in his face, because of however the conversation went. At the prison. At San Luis Obispo,” Wright Jr. recalled. From there, Wright Jr. explained the moments leading up to Snoop Dogg inking a deal with No Limit Records following his tenure with Death Row. Check the full interview above.

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About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.