Veteran entertainment attorney Reggie Osse, also known as Combat Jack,
spoke with Complex, sharing some behind the scenes stories tied to some classic hip-hop records (mostly in the 90s). The whole thing is worth a read, but there is a lot of Bad Boy related details in there and I wanted to highlight them.
You'll want to check out his blurbs on
"Who Shot Ya," "Player's Anthem," "Hit 'Em Up," "Brooklyn's Finest," "Ain't No N****," "T.O.N.Y. (Top of New York)," "Hypnotize," "We'll Always Love Big Poppa," "How to Rob," "Hate Me Now," "I Dare You" and
"Bad Boyz."
Osse discusses the tragic Bad Boy/Death Row feud, insisting neither Biggie's "Who Shot Ya?" nor Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Player's Anthem" were intended to cause such a reaction from 2Pac. "We had no clue Tupac would take this song as a major diss," he says. "We had no clue that 'Pac would soon join ranks with crazy a** Suge Knight and Death Row and use this record as motivation to bomb first. We had no clue this record would later, indirectly, lead to the deaths of not only Tupac, but our man Christopher Wallace."
Roc-A-Fella wanted to shoot a video for Jay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest," but Osse says that Diddy "wouldn't, couldn't" grant them full single rights for the record because Arista did not want Biggie to be "overexposed" by appearing on too many records. "No shots," Osse continues. "But I remember being on the phone once again begging for Puff to let Big rock on a single and video, and Puff asking me, 'Yo, what the eff is a Jay-Z? I can't get Clive Davis to clear Big on some unknown rapper's record.' To his credit, Puff did let the Roc keep the song on the album."
Among the other interesting details, he says that when Foxy Brown first burst onto the scene, Bad Boy was a part of a bidding war, alongside Def Jam, Elektra and others. After Diddy's alleged assault of Steve Stoute (following the airing of Nas' "Hate Me Now" with Diddy's crucifixion scene), according to Osse, Diddy called up his office and said: "I'm real hot on the streets right now, n*****! Real f****** hot! Nobody can't f*** with me right now." Finally, Osse claims that he's the one who came up with Harve Pierre's Joe Hooker moniker.
There is a lot more in there, so be sure to check out the full piece.
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