AllHipHop Staff, Author at AllHipHop

Pac’s Life, Part 2: Reggie Wright

By: AllHipHop StaffCategory: FeaturesOctober 31, 2007

The Tupac Assassination film tries to solve one of Hip-Hops biggest whodunits, naming Suge Knight and Reginald Wright Jr. as the prime suspects behind Tupac’s murder. In recent shocking developments Makavelis former bodyguard and Compton police officer Kevin Hackie claims he was working alongside the FBI during his tenure of watching over Pac. According to Hackie, the Feds suspected Suge Knight and company of carrying out criminal activities through his then dominant Death Row Records empire. Hackie funneled information to the FBI as he was already positioned inside of Death Row through his security services. The presence of off-duty Los Angeles police officers working hand in hand with known gang members would lead many to believe that law enforcement corruption was a major hurdle in closing the case. With all this heat on Death Row, former general manager and head of security Reginald Wright steps up to address all the accusations stemming from the new documentary. In a candid interview Wright goes over the videotape and gives his side of the story on Pacs rumored monetary gripes with the label, the lack of security in Vegas and the motives behind the shooting. AllHipHop.com: Can you give the AllHipHop.com community a run through of your background? Reginald Wright: First off, my name is Reginald Wright. I was a police officer for the city of Compton up until January of 96 when I retired. I had a traffic accident that messed up my ankle and I got a medical retirement. However, prior to that I opened up a security company in May of 95 where I started providing services for Death Row Records and different movie production studios. I was the head of security for Death Row and a vendor of Death Row where I supplied a company which is called Wright Way Protective Services. When Suge was incarcerated for the probation violation in 97 I started operating and doing the day to day business for the record company for Mr. Knight up until his return. I then stopped working for Death Row in January 2002 and started working as a consultant for two to three years. AllHipHop.com: I know your main reason in getting in touch with us was to respond to the recent statements from your former employee Kevin Hackie. At a recent screening of Tupac Assassination Kevin admitted he was working with the FBI during his time at Death Row. The movie is headed by another one of your former employees Big Frank Alexander. Reginald Wright: Thats true. Suge and I have taken a lot of criticism over the years. Out of respect for Pac, we didnt really care what people think, just as long as Afeni Shakur, members of the Outlawz, and people that were close to him at the time knew our relationship with him. Ive worked hand in hand with Miss Shakur and her staff on putting out the Tupac items while they were in custody and everything like that. I was instrumental in putting out the greatest hits album of course with Suges blessings. As long as I knew they didnt believe any of these theories and all the false stuff out there in the media, we didnt care. But now when I see guys keep popping up, keeping their fame, going on and making money and exploiting him for their own personal gain and believing their own lies you get tired of seeing that. Once I saw the tape and read the things online, I said, Hey these guys cant get away with this because some people really believe this stuff. Over sixty to seventy percent of the accusations in the film are outright lies. Kevin Hackie was not an FBI implant he was a school district police officer that I knew from being a Compton police officer. Hes an FBI informant, not an FBI implant. He was a snitch who had some jail time that [he] wanted to try to work off and Im sure the FBI wanted an implant in there. Either he was a bad informant or we didnt do anything wrong. We have never been indicted. So if he was an informant or this and that, either we werent [doing] anything wrong or he was a bad informant. We didnt care about informants; thats why Suge hired police officers. We knew these guys were police officers. I didnt do a good enough background check as I should have on guys like Frank Alexander who represented himself as a retired Orange County sheriff and had a badge and ID that I can supply you copies of and stuff like that. Then I find out later he was nothing but a marine on steroids. Kevin Hackie was a cop but I didnt know he was being investigated where he ended up doing federal penitentiary time and is still on probation. Hes a convicted felon who is trying to portray himself as a security officer or a FBI [agent]. Those are all the bad guys. Suge Knight did jail time for an alleged kick. Ive never been to jail but everyone wants to make us the bad guys. AllHipHop.com: So you have viewed the Tupac Assassination film?Reginald Wright: I did see it. AllHipHop.com: When I spoke to Kevin Hackie he basically explained to me that he was a cop but was moonlighting as security for Death Row. FBI agents approached him about working with the FBI because he was already working within Death Row. Kevin Hackie stated that they were keeping an eye on you and believed you were carrying out criminal activities for Suge Knight. Reginald Wright: I dont know that to be true or not. I know that by an article in the LA Times he backtracked on saying all of that stuff with [LA Times writer] Chuck Phillips. He can tell you that right before the trial he backtracked from all of that. That it was all lies and said it was [Former LAPD] Russell Poole said all of that. […]

Rapper The Game To Wed Actress Valeisha Butterfield In March 2007

By: AllHipHop StaffCategory: NewsJune 24, 2006

Compton rapper The Game has confirmed that he is engaged to actress Valeisha Butterfield and the two will be married in March of 2007. In a recent edition of Sister 2 Sister magazine, the rapper confirmed rumors that he was engaged. He also revealed that he gave Butterfield a 19-carat engagement ring. The two have selected March 22, 2007 to be wed, the date being the anniversary of his proposal to Butterfield, who has small roles in Remember The Titans and Road Trip. “I was just as surprised as my family and everybody was,” Butterfield told Sister 2 Sister when The Game proposed. “I didn’t pass out, but I buckled and he caught me. We never dated, that’s the thing; we went from being friends to being engaged.” Lil’ Jon, Hilary Duff and others were present at a private engagement dinner that was held in California to celebrate to couple’s union. Butterfield is also the daughter of North Carolina Congressman GK Butterfield, who reportedly gave the gangster rapper “the third degree” upon their first meeting. Fans of the rapper can see him on the silver screen as “Big Meat” in the movie Waist Deep, which opened yesterday (June 23) and stars R&B singer/rapper/actor Tyrese Gibson Meagan Good and Larenz Tate.

MF Doom: Unmasked

By: AllHipHop StaffCategory: FeaturesJune 17, 2004

He gave you Operation: DOOMsday and Vaudeville Villain, and now MF DOOM, along with the layered production of Madlib, gives you the long awaited collaboration album, Madvillainy. Awkward and beautiful; revealing and whimsical – Madvillainy was met with many classic reviews (including AllHipHop.com) and is again proof of why MF DOOM’s unique delivery, superb lyricism, and intricately woven storylines make him one of Hip-Hop’s most intriguing MC’s. A rhyme spitter that lurks in the shadows, only allowing the public to gaze upon him in disguise, MF DOOM not only decloaked, but unmasked himself for AllHipHop.com. Remember when Dorothy actually met the Wizard? Well, this time around, DOOM’s bigger than his image…see why. AllHipHop.com: Bring cats up to speed on the history of MF Doom? MF Doom: I’ve been rhyming ever since I was like 12 years old, man that’s been a while, like 83’, 84’. But it wasn’t until 8 years after that in like 90’ that I got into it professionally through MC Serch of 3rd Bass. When he got his Def Jam deal, he was like, “Yo, you wanna do somethin’” and from there he brought me under his wing to record that “Gas Face” joint (Rhyming under the name Zev Love X.) And also at that time me and my brother Subroc had a whole album’s worth of demos, but we was just doing it for fun we wouldn’t really trying to get a deal or nothing. And at that time there wasn’t really a lot of Hip-Hop albums out, the business aspect of Hip-Hop was really just starting to set off. But under Serch’s management, they got us a deal as KMD, so we knocked out the album and the rest is on some history type s**t. AllHipHop.com: There was a “dark” period after your brother passed where you quit rhyming? MFD: We didn’t have the avenue to put music out. For a time it got real hectic, with not having a deal n*ggas is broke so we didn’t even have no equipment. This st was the real dark days, but I always had a pen and a pad, just the matter of the recording was mad difficult. Around 93’ once we got off Elektra, and I lost my brother [Subroc], God bless, it was like, “No deal, fine.” I was still shopping. But it turned out that everybody turned they back on a n*gga, it was like I was black-balled out the game, I don’t know. Maybe it was because the game was changing, ‘cause we was on some experimental fun stuff like De La and Tribe was rocking, but then it started with that whole gangsta st, where you gotta be talking about some type of gat in order to catch peoples ear. It was a money thing, it seemed like that was thing that the companies wanted to capitalize on and I never started doing none of that s###, I stuck to my style. AllHipHop.com: So when did things turn around and turn Zeb Love X to MF DOOM? MFD: Then my man Bobbito heard some stuff I was doing, and he was like, “Yo let me put this out.” And I was trying to come with a new angle cause I didn’t wanna ride out the coat tails of KMD, so I’ll straight out like a new character, bang, to give the people something new for one, and at the same time gauge it to see like, “If I get good feedback on this then I know that these experimental like styles is worth doing as far as the people is concerned,” and it took off way more than I thought. So I kept repping it and Bob asked me to put out a whole album based on the reception to the singles, it wasn’t too much of a budget, but it was enough to live for a second and get the record done and st. So once Operation DOOMsday was done, by hook or crook, man like a lot of things was going on at the same time that could have prevented it from happening, but we all stuck together and helped each other out and finished the album, and that st right there was a milestone in my whole career, like that was one of the illest albums I’ve ever did. AllHipHop.com: A lot of cats feel that way. MFD: Word, that s**t, forget it. I still do songs from that s### on the road, and it steals the show every time. “Rhymes like Dimes,” it’s like, forget it, I couldn’t leave off the stage without playing that joint. AllHipHop.com: King Geodorah, Viktor Vaughn, DOOM, Zeb Love…You take the aliases mad serious. MFD: Oh, yeah, I take ‘em seriously, each of them need to be as distinct as possible. When I’m in Vic mode, I’m thinking from the perspective a 19 year-old cat. Now DOOM is the older cat. He’s a lot more reflective than Vic. See, I think a lot of the Hip Hop s**t is a little limited when it comes to MC’ing if you just stick to what you do everyday, it’s just different people talking about the same s### over and over. When I delve into a character like DOOM, he’s like a scientist, but he’s a b-boy too and he’s an older cat, there are just so many different angles I can play that at. So I’m not limited to my own regular, boring human existence. So I definitely dive into these characters even if I have to like detox myself. AllHipHop.com: What role does the mask play? MFD: The mask allows me to be the other character and when I’m in my real life I can just be me. I would hate to not be able to go to the grocery store without some cat being like, “Yo!” Also the mask allows me to get a clearer perspective of what the fans like, cause they will talk to me about it, ya know, they […]

DJ Vlad: DJ Phenomenon

By: AllHipHop StaffCategory: FeaturesJanuary 27, 2004

DJ Vlad has taken the mixtape world like the marvel character Galactus. But, hes not just eating off the game, hes putting food on the plate for others in the form of his sick Cds, which truly took the overcrowded genre to another level. Case study: Tupac: Rap Phenomenon II, his stellar collaborative effort with Green Lantern and DJ Dirty Harry has already garnered him an inane amount of awards and accolades. The original Notorious BIG: Rap Phenomenon also transcended other greatest hits collections by remixing the old track with others artists and even new verses essentially crafting complete new songs. Of course, his career doesnt stop or end there so get to know DJ Vlad. AllHiphop.com: I heard you made beats back in the early 90s do you still make beats? V: Yeah. Im getting back into that swing again; I got a couple of beat reels that are circulating, some people were talking to. If I come back into it I wanna come back real hard. AllHiphop.com: Youre the King of the West Coast as far as mixtapes, but you live in New York V: Yeah. Well I moved to New York about a year and a half ago but Ive lived in the west most of my life and I was doing my thing up there. But it wasnt really til I moved to New York til I learned what the game was like. Once I was able to figure out how it worked on the east coast I started going back to the west a lot getting my s### out real hard. At one point I started looking around and was like Theres nobody really doing it right now, I should just take that title. And my man Warrior he ended up hooking up with me and I sort of keyed him into a lot of stuff and he was able to get his stuff popping from that he won Best West Coast category in the Mixtape Awards. He made sure to shout me out and everything when he [was] presented his award. AllHiphop.com: So are you still popping as far as mix tapes in the West? V: Yeah, Im trying. We did our thing with the Rap Phenomenon. Vibe and XXL gave that mixtape of the year as well as gave a mixtape award for it. Right now Im working on a mixtape thats going to be all rock beats. Rock beats with hip hop vocals on it and I ended up hooking up with Muggs from Cypress Hill and he was working on the exact same s### coincidently. Right now were collaborating and well fly out in a couple of weeks to finish that mixtape up. AllHiphop.com: Whos your favorite artist on the mixtapes? I heard your mixtapes and noticed you like to put a lot of Biggie tracks on them and then you came out with Rap Phenomenon, which was just exclusively biggie V: Im a huge Biggie fan. Im a real real big Biggie fan. Im a Big/ Tupac fan and Im really feeling what 50 is doing these days . You going to see a lot of 50 influences, Im a big Eminem fan Ive always been keyed into Em before Dre even found him when he was sort of doing all the independent 12 inches and doing other peoples sh*t. Independently I saw talent there. In terms of new dudes I like what game is doing and were actually working on his mixtape right now. I really like whats coming out of the Aftermath camp. Status quo working on his mixtape he got signed. AllHiphop.com: What puts an unsigned artist on a mixtape? Is it their street credibility or is it talent alone? V: I try to get dudes that are hustling. Its cool that you got a nice flow and your rapping over somebody elses beat but I dont really want to waste anyones time in a way. Like if I put someone on I really want them to run with that and do some big things with it because right now my tapes are getting a lot of attention every major A&R has a copy of it. So if I will put someone on I want them to use that to get them to the next level and keep it moving like that. These cats got put on called The Renegades out of cali which was a year ago, those were the first unsigned dudes I put on my mixtape and they got a deal from Def Jam right now on the table. Theyre able to parlay that into a major record deal. Thats what Im really looking for cats who are working real hard to build there buzz or its just like why bother I put you on you can brag about it to your friends but I rather give that spot to someone else. AllHiphop.com: Is your preference selling whats hot to you or what people are going to want to hear? Whats hot on the street now may not be to your liking. V: Its got to be a combination of both. Im not going to sit down and be on my own s### to the point where its like I dont care what everybody else thinks. My ears arent perfect, there are records out there when I heard them I didnt think much of them but next thing you know theyre massive hits. Thats happened a bunch of times. SoI just try to see whats hot but I think what makes me a little different is that like New York a lot of the Mixtape DJsPeople want to hear s### in New York that other places dont necessarily want to hear so I dont just see whats hot in New York and put out that. My CD wont have 20 D Block songs on them, but D Block is real hot in New York but in Cali there are not feeling […]

I Finally Met Aaliyah

By: AllHipHop StaffCategory: OpinionAugust 28, 2003

Kathy Iandoli honors the life and times of one Aaliyah Haughton. RIP, Baby Girl!