DX: Going back to that HipHopRuckus interview, you said that Suge was, “…grooming me to run the company, so I sat in all the meetings.” Were there genuine plans in place for you to take over Death Row at some point?
Danny Boy: Oh, I thought that I was gonna be the Chief [Executive] of Death Row for a long time, because like I said, I was being groomed for it. I was in [real] meetings. A lot of people can say they were in meetings, but they were probably meeting with the janitors and the painters and stuff like that. I did have an opportunity to meet with Jimmy Iovine.
Suge kept me real close. And for a long time I was reading a lot of papers for Suge… He was helping me understand the business. I can’t let it get by that people don’t understand that Suge Knight knew the business when he was doing it. That’s what made Death Row what it was – not just the beats, not just the songs, and not just the artists.
So, I do believe that he was grooming me. I was having an opportunity to sit down with Jimmy Iovine. It’s a lot of artists, I don’t think [that] can say they sat in on board meetings at [17-years-old] where a lot of decisions were being made, and they had an opportunity to see the blueprint.
DX: So the obvious question is then, why didn’t you take the reigns of the company when Suge got locked up a month after ‘Pac’s passing?
Danny Boy: It’s like anything else: haters. There was one fool that took over the record company by the name of Reggie Wright, [who] was Suge old security guard. And…they kept me away from Suge. I hadn’t talked to Suge in about a year-and-a-half [after] he first got locked up.
And this was somebody that I [previously] talked to on a daily basis. This was somebody that made sure that I was cool on a daily basis. And they kinda took that away from me because they knew that I was gonna be the man. They couldn’t accept the fact that a [18-year-old] was fin to be running [the company] – And I was gonna be pushing some records, not just running a business, but I was gonna push some records and I was gonna make sure that the artists that we did have left, and the artists that was [still] there, that they woulda gotten they just due. I woulda wrote a check – without Suge knowing it – to make sure that people were getting treated right.
But, the other people that had an opportunity to run that label, they didn’t know shit about the music business. They weren’t talented. They was just an ex-police officer that couldn’t even – His knee was out, [so] he couldn’t even get back on the force. So the best thing for him to do was to keep me out of the way. And he done a great job [at that]. Thank You, Reggie Wright.
DX: [Laughs] Are you still legally Suge Knight’s son?
Danny Boy: I’m a grown man, so I don’t know if I should say [I’m] legally his son anymore. But, he treated me as a son, and I still love him as a father – if that answer the question for you. As far as talking to him [at this point], I’m probably more of a disgruntled child now.
DX: Well I mean, when he first did the deal for you [when you were 15-years-old] he had to legally adopt you in the state of California, right?
Danny Boy: Well, it was about a year later. Because in order to have a [work contract] in the state of California and you’re a minor, in order to enter into a minor agreement you must have a guardian around and my mother passed at 15. My daddy is 84-years-old today, so you talking about he was [almost 60-years-old back then] and his plans wasn’t moving to California.
DX: I just wanted to clear up some of that, ‘cause you know – I’m sure you do know – that the rumor mill went into high gear with that son stuff…
Danny Boy: Oh yeah. Yeah, you can go ahead and ask me that if you want to. I know what you getting at, c’mon ask it.
DX: …The rumor was Suge was jailin’ you down.
Danny Boy: Jailin’ me down, what that mean, f**king me?
Danny Boy: Oh, I thought that I was gonna be the Chief [Executive] of Death Row for a long time, because like I said, I was being groomed for it. I was in [real] meetings. A lot of people can say they were in meetings, but they were probably meeting with the janitors and the painters and stuff like that. I did have an opportunity to meet with Jimmy Iovine.
Suge kept me real close. And for a long time I was reading a lot of papers for Suge… He was helping me understand the business. I can’t let it get by that people don’t understand that Suge Knight knew the business when he was doing it. That’s what made Death Row what it was – not just the beats, not just the songs, and not just the artists.
So, I do believe that he was grooming me. I was having an opportunity to sit down with Jimmy Iovine. It’s a lot of artists, I don’t think [that] can say they sat in on board meetings at [17-years-old] where a lot of decisions were being made, and they had an opportunity to see the blueprint.
DX: So the obvious question is then, why didn’t you take the reigns of the company when Suge got locked up a month after ‘Pac’s passing?
Danny Boy: It’s like anything else: haters. There was one fool that took over the record company by the name of Reggie Wright, [who] was Suge old security guard. And…they kept me away from Suge. I hadn’t talked to Suge in about a year-and-a-half [after] he first got locked up.
And this was somebody that I [previously] talked to on a daily basis. This was somebody that made sure that I was cool on a daily basis. And they kinda took that away from me because they knew that I was gonna be the man. They couldn’t accept the fact that a [18-year-old] was fin to be running [the company] – And I was gonna be pushing some records, not just running a business, but I was gonna push some records and I was gonna make sure that the artists that we did have left, and the artists that was [still] there, that they woulda gotten they just due. I woulda wrote a check – without Suge knowing it – to make sure that people were getting treated right.
But, the other people that had an opportunity to run that label, they didn’t know shit about the music business. They weren’t talented. They was just an ex-police officer that couldn’t even – His knee was out, [so] he couldn’t even get back on the force. So the best thing for him to do was to keep me out of the way. And he done a great job [at that]. Thank You, Reggie Wright.
DX: [Laughs] Are you still legally Suge Knight’s son?
Danny Boy: I’m a grown man, so I don’t know if I should say [I’m] legally his son anymore. But, he treated me as a son, and I still love him as a father – if that answer the question for you. As far as talking to him [at this point], I’m probably more of a disgruntled child now.
DX: Well I mean, when he first did the deal for you [when you were 15-years-old] he had to legally adopt you in the state of California, right?
Danny Boy: Well, it was about a year later. Because in order to have a [work contract] in the state of California and you’re a minor, in order to enter into a minor agreement you must have a guardian around and my mother passed at 15. My daddy is 84-years-old today, so you talking about he was [almost 60-years-old back then] and his plans wasn’t moving to California.
DX: I just wanted to clear up some of that, ‘cause you know – I’m sure you do know – that the rumor mill went into high gear with that son stuff…
Danny Boy: Oh yeah. Yeah, you can go ahead and ask me that if you want to. I know what you getting at, c’mon ask it.
DX: …The rumor was Suge was jailin’ you down.
Danny Boy: Jailin’ me down, what that mean, f**king me?
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