He’d been hanging around Ruthless as the D.O.C.’s bodyguard and had grown close to Dre during his conflict with the label. With an eye on becoming a music mogul, Suge saw Dre as his meal ticket. Dre was already done mastering the final N.W.A. album, 1991’s Niggaz4Life, and he wanted out so he could finish work on his solo material. All that was standing in his and Suge’s way was Eazy.

On April 23, 1991, Eazy-E went up to the studios at Solar Records where he was greeted by Suge and a small entourage of men with pipes and Louisville sluggers. Suge delivered contract releases for several Ruthless artists and planned to squeeze Eazy into signing them so he could poach the artists for the fledgling label he was starting. He told Eazy he had N.W.A.’s manager Jerry Heller tied up in a van before offering a final warning: “We know where your mother lives.” With that, Eazy signed. The documents weren’t deemed legally binding, but the wheels were in motion. Eventually, Suge got his way: Dre was no longer a Ruthless artist, and Death Row Records was born. Dre was the biggest producer in hip-hop music, a pioneer drawing comparisons to Quincy Jones and Phil Spector he was also its most unemployable one. Plagued by legal battles and beset with a number of open court cases, nobody would touch him. Five of the eight albums Dre produced for Ruthless from 1987 to 1991 went platinum, but he was a volatile figure prone to violence. The next time I saw Suge at an Uptown Records listening party, he shouts my name from across the room, calls me “cuz” and greets me with a pound and a hug.He was accused of a savage, public assault by journalist Dee Barnes and another assault on a police officer during a 50-person brawl he allegedly started. A few months later, I remember being thrilled to see the photos on a Sunset Strip billboard with my photograph. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end. He glared at me and the entourage instigated with an “ooooh shit!” And sorta needled me. I said “I’m here to shoot Dre and Snoop” and even called him “cuz”, and it didn’t go over well.

Unaware of his reputation, I eventually got cross with him. As the night goes on, Suge starts introducing me to other acts he wants me to photograph.

Suge Knight was my contact person and seemed to control everything. We started our shoot in the photography studio, then recording studio, and later transitioned to locations outdoors in LA. Two weeks later, I get a call from Death Row Records to fly out to LA to shoot Dr Dre. I didn’t yet recognize either of their names but we hit it off and had a great shoot. I first met Dre when he came to my studio with his new young protégé Snoop Dogg in 1992.

Dr dre the chronic album cover maker