Suge Knight Reveals Tupac’s Desire to Sign Aaliyah to Death Row Records

Suge Knight has opened up about Tupac Shakur’s admiration for Aaliyah and his desire to sign her to Death Row Records.

In a recent phone conversation from prison with The Art of Dialogue, the co-founder of Death Row Records shared an intimate moment when Tupac first witnessed Aaliyah’s talent. Knight recalled that Tupac was immediately captivated by her performance at a Gladys Knight concert in Las Vegas, describing it as a transformative experience.

“We had a thing. I would always listen to oldies, and Pac would listen to rap. He didn’t like oldies, so I told him, ‘I gotta show you what oldies are about.’ So, I took 2Pac to go see Gladys Knight perform in Vegas,” Suge Knight explained.

During the performance, Tupac was so impressed by Aaliyah’s voice that he immediately expressed his desire to work with her. Knight continued, “Aaliyah starts singing and 2Pac said, ‘Don’t get up! Don’t get up!’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because Gladys Knight knows you, you’re gonna speak to Gladys Knight, and then you’re gonna talk to that little girl singing. And the next thing you know, you’re gonna be doing an album.’”

Tupac was focused on Aaliyah as an artist, saying that she had the best voice ever and was destined for greatness. “He wasn’t thinking about signing nobody else. He thought she was the biggest star and had the best voice ever. Me and that dude spent hours and hours and days and days together. I never seen him get so excited about no female artist. … He lost his mind over Aaliyah. He talked about her for days and days. I got tired of hearing him talking about that little girl.”

Suge Knight went on to reveal that Tupac had even discussed specific songs he wanted to create with Aaliyah, showing just how enthusiastic he was about the collaboration.

Tupac, tragically, was shot and killed in 1996 at the age of 25, and Knight admitted that he still hasn’t come to terms with his death. “I always looked up to 2Pac because he was such a real brother. I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get over his death, but I do know his music will live on forever,” he said. “All of us have suffered a major loss, including those who tried to destroy his name, reputation, and spirit when he was alive.”

Aaliyah, too, tragically passed away at the age of 22 in 2001 following a plane crash.