2Pac vs. Snoop: Suge Knight Reveals the Fallout That Nearly Turned Physical
Suge Knight has pulled back the curtain on one of the biggest rifts in hip-hop history, revealing that 2Pac and Snoop Dogg’s relationship took a dramatic turn in the rapper’s final days. According to the former Death Row Records CEO, Pac once tried to fight Snoop after feeling betrayed by his comments about their East Coast rivals.
Speaking to The Art of Dialogue, Suge explained that the falling-out happened when Snoop publicly stated that he had no issues with Diddy or Biggie Smalls—two of Death Row’s biggest enemies at the time. Pac, who was fiercely loyal to the label and always ready to go to war for his team, took Snoop’s words as a slap in the face.
Suge recalled the moment Pac stormed into his hotel room, visibly upset, demanding to hear a radio interview where Snoop downplayed the West Coast vs. East Coast beef. “Pac was so mad because he always rode for those dudes,” Suge said. “He put everybody on his album, he was on the front lines for them. So for Snoop to go on air and basically say, ‘I’m cool with the other side,’ it was on.”
Things escalated further when Snoop was shot at while filming the music video for “New York, New York” in Biggie’s hometown—a move Pac saw as another sign that Death Row’s rivals weren’t playing fair. That only fueled his anger. When it came time to fly back to Los Angeles, Pac wasted no time confronting Snoop.
According to Suge, Pac charged at Snoop in the hotel lobby, forcing Suge to step in and break things up. Knowing tensions were high, Suge told them to handle the issue in Death Row’s infamous “red room,” where internal conflicts were settled in private. But Snoop wanted no part of it.
“Snoop refused to ride with Pac to the airport because he thought Pac was crazy,” Suge claimed, adding that Snoop opted to ride in a separate van—with the luggage. Even on their private jet home, Snoop avoided Pac entirely.
This version of events contradicts Snoop’s own account. In a 2019 interview with Angie Martinez, Snoop said he was on the same flight as Pac, armed with a knife and fork, just in case things went sideways. But Suge says that never happened. “Snoop wasn’t trying to run into Pac at all,” he stated.
The situation only got worse when they landed in L.A. Snoop reportedly tried to smooth things over, asking Pac if he was heading to Las Vegas for the Mike Tyson fight. Pac barely acknowledged him. That would be the last time Snoop saw him alive.
Just days later, on September 7, 1996, 2Pac was shot in Las Vegas. He died six days later.
Suge’s revelation adds another layer to the story of Pac’s final days, shedding light on how Death Row’s internal struggles may have contributed to the tensions that shaped hip-hop’s most infamous era.