After the demise of N.W.A, Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records, and Suge Knight’s then-upstart Death Row Records became embroiled in one of Hip Hop’s most famous and highly-publicized civil wars. Part of that lyrical barrage was a song on Kokane’s 1994 album, Funk Upon A Rhyme, called “Don’t Bite the Phunk,” which featured Above The Law’s Cold 187um and took aim at Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX, Kokane talks about how he and Snoop got past their differences, and how that reconciliation eventually led to the G-Funk crooner’s deal with Snoop’s Dogghouse Records.
“In 1999 Snoop was thinking about putting his label together, called Dogghouse Records,” Kokane says. “There was some people I was with called Street Institute. Snoop’s studio was in Paramount, California. Ours was in Upland, California. Lil 1/2 Dead and Tray Dee used to record with us. We all used to record at the same place. 1/2 Dead is a good friend of Snoop’s and him and Tray Dee used to do a lot of stuff with us, so he went over to Snoop’s house and said, ‘Koke is doing his thing,’ and Snoop sent a message and said, ‘Tell Koke to come through. You know, it’s all good.’ So we squashed it and shook hands.”
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