Suge Knight claims Dr. Dre tried to have him murdered.
The 53-year-old rap mogul – who recently accepted a plea deal for the 2015 manslaughter of a man – believes the producer hired two men to kill him, leading to the events that led to death of Terry Carter at Tam’s Burgers in Compton.
The row between Suge and Dre stems back to the 1990s, when they ended their business relationship. The Death Row Records co-founder claimed he had a lifetime deal with the ‘No Diggity’ hitmaker to collect 30% of his earnings, including a stake in the producer’s $3 billion deal between Apple and Beats.
And Suge told The Blast that, because he tried to claim his money, Dre put out a hit on him on the day he ran over Terry, but believes that was put in place because he survived a 2014 nightclub shooting that left him with multiple gunshot wounds.
He said: "They also got the paper trail with all the cheques and proof of when they talked to the witnesses saying that Dre came to them first and asked the two guys how much it cost to get rid of me.
"And they said, ‘What you mean by get rid of?’ And they said, ‘Kill him.’ "
Suge – who was behind bars for three-and-a-half years before striking a deal last month – claimed he had no choice in making the agreement ahead of a murder trial because his attorney warned him he wouldn’t be capable of successfully fighting his corner in court.
He explained: "So when they gave me an attorney, he seen me two times in eight months and told me he went to the court and said he needed help and other attorneys. And they told him no. He said no way he can do my trial because he really don’t know the case and he won’t win.
"So if somebody stacks the deck against you, to the point where they’re not trying to fight for you, and let you get the attorneys you wish to have, what can you do?"
While Suge – who has been hospitalised multiple times while in prison – is unlikely to get out of jail until he’s at least 70, he’s confident he will see the light of day again.
He said: "Absolutely. Of course."
He is due to be sentenced on Thursday (04.10.18) and said he is looking forward to moving to a more permanent facility because he hasn’t received proper medical attention since he’d been behind bars.
A spokesperson for Dre declined to comment.