Suge Knight and Diddy have been rivals and enemies since the ’90s, when their respective labels — Death Row and Bad Boy — fought for rap supremacy in a feud that culminated in the tragic murders of both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.
Knight, who is currently serving 28 years in California for voluntary manslaughter, caught up with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation to talk about Diddy’s arrest. Suge started the conversation with a disclaimer, saying that he doesn’t “jump up and cheer for no Black man going to prison or any other human being going to prison.”
However, he suggested that Diddy may be in for a tough time behind bars because of his fame. “I mean, one of the things is this: I don’t care who you are, prison and jail is a negative environment,” Knight said. “Somebody can do something to him and get a name for themself, they gonna actually do it. Or if they can do whatever they feel they gotta do to prove themself.” He added: “But we also gotta learn… We gotta learn from our mistakes. Everything don’t have to be a mistake, you gotta better yourself. But we all know what we signed up for in life.”
Cuomo also asked the founder of Death Row Records if he felt like Diddy was in danger and if he had any advice for him. “I don’t wanna say he’s in danger and neither should he say that,” he advised. “Because once he gets to the point where they feel he’s gonna be suicidal… you don’t have the rights to nothing: no sock, no drawers, no T-shirt, no blanket, no sheets. You’re naked in a cell as a crazy man, so he definitely don’t wanna do that.”
His other words of wisdom were to ask for kosher meals because they’re difficult to be tampered with. “Maybe he should get on the Jewish diet because the kosher meals is way better than the food somebody else is making for you,” he said. “At least they gonna come hot. They gonna come sealed and you’re gonna be the one to open them. That’s very important.”
Diddy is currently being held in Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a jail notorious for its violence and subpar living conditions. MDC Brooklyn has housed high-profile prisoners like R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell, and some judges have even refused to send people there, according to The Associated Press. He’s been placed on “procedural” suicide watch, something that is common when it comes to detainees of his stature. A spokesperson has maintained that he’s “strong, healthy and focused on his defense.”
You can watch the full interview here.
