Gerardo: Suge Would Get Violent at Interscope to Get His Money

www.vladtv.com - Gerardo recently recalled some of his more vivid memories of Suge Knight during an interview with VladTV.
The Ecuadorian-born artist first spoke about beating out NWA at an early '90s Los Angeles Music Awards, saying that once he took the stage to accept his trophy for "Rico Suave," he got out of there quickly.
"From that day on, I knew I had made enemies with everybody -- it was like the beginning of the end," Gerardo joked.
The conversation then turned to Gerardo's time at Interscope, and the stories he heard about Death Row CEO Suge Knight coming to get what was owed to him from his parent label.
Explaining that he was at the label as an artist in the early '90s before returning to the label as an executive in 1999, Gerardo related what happened during those years in-between. "I heard stories when Suge would break the door in, and somebody had not given him his check, and he'd pick them up -- I heard stories."
Check out the full clip to hear a whole lot more from Gerardo about Suge Knight and his unorthodox ways; it's a must-watch.

[@slikdarelic]

some of u guys out here dont realize that not all artists and celebs "fall off".. they use their 15 minutes of fame to explore other avenues of business.. people like Gerardo, Vanilla Ice, Kwame, and one of my faves, Full Force (after they stopped makin records, Full Force wrote songs for NSync and Backstreet Boys.. and thats just 2 out of many), are all doin good.. not havin a hit record on the radio for 10-20 years doesnt always means a person has fell off, and theyre workin a 9 - 5 at McDonald's.. the smart ones are still livin comfortably.. and are still millionaires, or have a 6 figure income.. sometimes its best to just lay low behind the scenes, and have a comfortable life.. without the headaches of paparazzi and fanfare that "superfame" brings.

[@revlo1557]

slikdarelic True spit.

[@apexone5502]

+slikdarelic man, let these folks know. That's why someone like Sir Mix A Lot is still eating despite not having a hit for years. Behind the scenes can garner cats some real paper.

[@ghostgoblin624]

+slikdarelic #facts

[@slikdarelic]

+Apexone no doubt.. Sir Mix a Lot said in an interview that "Baby got Back" has easily made over $100mil for everyone that was involved with the record.. and that was b4 Nicki even touched it.. so while people clown these guys, theyre laughin their asses off livin in big mansions and drivin $100,000 cars.. not ever havin to work another day in their life if they dont want to.. and can still walk into a store and not get mobbed by everyone, bcuz not everyone knows who they are.

[@negrochifladorivera1008]

true dat.

[@911sanitarium]

i cant believe this dude is 50 years old, looks 37 tops he is a true rico suave lol.

[@barb6868]

Marvin Mendez I thought he was in his 30’s.

[@pedropunjabi7339]

Black dont crack

[@davephantom5150]

@@pedropunjabi7339 His Not Black His Latino Homes Just Because His Dark Don't Mean He Is Black Ya Dig Ese

[@neopro4k541]

Dirty Random310 Yup he black homie.!

[@747REDFELLA1]

Let him grow a beard you will see his age lol ..But since Latins do have a certain amount of african in them many don’t age like white ppl the age like us blk ppl...

[@yanceyheredia9595]

two scary words in the music industry during early and mid 90s : suges here!!!

[@pimpmastaa101]

Death Row fucking built Interscope

[@A-Mafia313]

Basically

[@wmx2133]

pimpmastaa101 Good point. I've been saying for a while now that Ted Field and Jimmy Iovine got blood on their hands. As you wrote, DR was, by far, the main source of income for Interscope. Field and Iovine didn't give a fuck that Suge wasn't paying DR artists properly and people were getting their asses beat at times.

[@rickmoreno548]

+pimpmastaa101 Jimmy knew what was going on and didn't care as long as the money was coming in. Once Dre left and Pac died, Interscope left DR to crumble. Iovine knew DR would self destruct and then they could take away the main creative guy. That's why Dre is still Iovines right hand man.

[@wmx2133]

Rick Moreno Bingo. Jimmy didn't give a fuck that Suge was operating DR like a gang. As you pointed out, as long as he was getting his cut, he didn't give a shit about any of the artists before Dre left.

[@TheJmoniez1]

Cube

[@mzgemini0006]

Vlad is like a hood private investigator lol... he will ask the same question to like five different people and say well I just interviewed so and so and he/she said......

[@caliboy9022]

mzgemini0006 your beautiful

[@mattramos6223]

Lol and then cut to a clip of the shit Haha now you watching two interviews

[@fadethechannel]

I'm thinkin' Cube based D'bo's character off of Suge....

[@mr.suplex927]

LOL In "Next Friday" Craig (cube) called Debo a "fake ass Suge Knight".

[@fadethechannel]

Dom The Suplexer damn sure did lmaooo

[@zak3293]

+fadethechannel yo good point! I'm sure he did.

[@osker450]

+GAZA-Z ye if you listen in next friday at beginning he calls him a fake arse suge night

[@zak3293]

***** yea i know that, but i never thought cube intentionally made Debo to represent suge.

[@DontaeS]

Suge was really the boogeyman of the music industry at one point. Can't believe it took Karma so long to catch up with his ass.

[@TheLakers2423]

Harry Bezem harry bezem fuck you

[@cooliegee]

Harry Bezem you know nothing what you speak of. There are families who became millionaires even billionaires from the enslavement of Africans. These very same families are the descendants of those evil times, let's not act like it didn't effect anyone.

[@thebest12700]

***** damn i aint fuckin with you son lmao

[@ayayyay]

+Coolie Gee so? Fuck you.

[@cooliegee]

ayayyay If I offended you, Peace.

[@SMOKE-N-BONE]

"u don't have to say names"..."was it Jimmy Iovine?" 😒

[@BinkiBianca]

😂😂😂😂

[@BudIce32oz]

yeah I was dying! fucking Vlad! 😂

[@BudIce32oz]

+The Future Of Gaming LOL!! Vlad was just doing it for us! He knows what we want to know, he was looking out for us lmao

[@TheGCJaguar]

BudIce32oz Exactly, +The Future Of Gaming, if you really feel like that-please tell me you cut out to another vid when Vlad started going in with the REAL questions, cuz I turned the volume UP cuz Gerardo started getting on that whisper/hesitation shit. Vlad got on some "60 minutes" shit this round.

[@theguc1]

Sm0kinThug no...it was john mccain. lolol first48

[@mattsheezy5469]

Gerardo needs to write a book. This is one of Vlads top 5 best interviews, from Rico Swave'.

[@akymsims]

Suge Knight got people coming out like Bill Cosby lol

[@jonesboi804]

Lmaooo fam...

[@MultiEMitchell]

the fuck nigga 😂😂😂

[@iMelanin]

Lmaoooo. I’m dead asf.

[@cedricwillis2126]

😂

[@crisleroi299]

Gerardo was Maclemore back in the 80s.

[@jkdortch2308]

Cris LeRoi not really

[@crisleroi299]

nah...Im just talking about the Grammy situation.

[@jkdortch2308]

Cris LeRoi that happens every year with pop artist at the grammys

[@KOVIDGOON]

on point

[@MustafaAhmadahmadmawia]

Cris LeRoi He was exactly the Maclemore of the early 90s that was a perfect example analogy

[@EvesGonnaEve]

Gerardo: I can't say any namesVlad: Was it Jimmy Iovine?Smh talking to Vlad is like talking to the cops.

[@TollFree999]

Spoken Rhythmz Vlad the Indicter.

[@travvypoo]

Spoken Rhythmz I've seen it speculated that this vlad guy is an undercover federal agent.

[@robgbaby]

He is the cops

[@georgerobles4976]

Spoken Rhythmz lol

[@11bravo47]

Suge is the real life Debo, "what you got for me Craig?"

[@caidema]

Didnt Ice Cube base the character off of Suge?

[@michaelbull4344]

He also knocked out plenty of times like deebo did. Bullies can t beat everyone down

[@LuStevens]

Was…

[@sahulianhooligan7046]

Suge Knight needs his own movie with these funny stories.

[@mdot100]

If it happened to you, I doubt you'd think it was funny!

[@georgeoy932]

It’s coming out in 2022

[@lewalcindor9356]

The "Rico Suave" dude? Where is Vlad finding these people?

[@lewalcindor9356]

Mark Firth Respect to him for making the transition.

[@lewalcindor9356]

***** Go watch the "Rico Suave" video by Gerardo on KZbin. That's him. One hit wonder from the early 90's. Latino Trinidad James basically.

[@allstar930]

Lew Alcindor Believe it or not this guy had a long successful record industry career.

[@TravisJenkinsNOCC]

Mark Firth He not A&R anymore but people hating on dude but he signed some your favorite artist back then.

[@lewalcindor9356]

***** Good to hear.

[@Niners4Lyphe]

Everyone wants to talk about Suge now that he's safely locked away. LOL!

[@jayrocky9067]

Niners4Lyphe fuck suge and you.... that nigga ain’t jumped in the hood...!!!!! Blood....

[@Turbo-em8gt]

dude looks shook as fuck after telling those stories

[@DaKoolDude]

Since Suge has been in jail, everyone has had something to say about him...

[@phantomgrill8944]

macmilitant123 facts!!!

[@CamConglomerate]

macmilitant123 RIGHT!!!

[@complexlifestyle6799]

macmilitant123 hell yeahhh

[@thesupervisor3270]

Yup pussies

[@mattheisterman2934]

That part

[@mdot100]

I'll give Gerardo credit for telling it like it is!

[@RenniefosterRF]

Gerado seems way cooler than i could have possibly imagined from the music I know from him.

[@mobhitta2636]

Gerardo** 4 years later

[@IPGreenhouse]

I agree. He is so fresh and clean for who he was. His wife though a very sexy model turned out to be really good people and he found his way. Same thing is happening with Gucci Mane he is going to be a clean executive years from now.

[@stephencoan79]

Then a barber knocked him out and people stopped giving a shit.

[@JustinJaiC.]

***** Ol' boy was BEYOND gay. That's funny/ironic part about it.

[@Straight-Outta-Nottingham]

That wouldnt of happened in the 90s...Niggaz only disrespect Suge now hes old and fragile

[@amirkhattabfernandez2439]

GARY PYBURN No

[@MaadAzzGang]

Antwoord69 Except he used a weapon. Not a gun, but forgot what it was. Also, Suge is a human. For anybody to ever think he never took loses was caught up in the usual/typical hype of a celebrity. Suge was about it but what made him more fearful was the wolves around him. Similar to alot of moguls (ie. Tommy Mottola, Puff, J Prince (even tho he also sold drugs) etc).

[@jilla82]

lacekid wheres the video? I thought it was common knowledge dude used an object on Suge. Not saying he's super human...but he was nowhere near the height of his power at that time.

[@veergujral6517]

Man Rico Suave is such a fun song. This man didn’t deserve the hate he got.

[@RocStarr913]

I think he came out of it better than some people did. I think Vanilla Ice inadvertently unfortunately poisoned the waters for an act like his.

[@dre8463]

No wonder Death Row artists were dropping multi-platinum classics right, left and centre at that time. Suge Knight had them IN CHECK!

[@scarecrow2811]

Is any one hear even old enough to remember this shit man?

[@Zoolander824]

Sucka Free i don't know who he is but he sounds like a big guy and tell me what's a song to listen from him or feat him

[@scarecrow2811]

Kevin Najera His name is Gerrado. His one hit was Rico Suave back like like 1990 and its on KZbin. If you watch the Movie Colors he is the tall skinny turnt up Mexican. I never knew he was that close to Death Row. He's a cool guy.

[@noneyafuxx114]

Brooks rico ......suave I eat them raw like sushi

[@jiggy7928]

Suge Knight sounds like just like my father a full blown narcissist sociopath. When you encounter with these type of people...you have to be very careful how you use your words around them or they'll fuck up your emotions. Not good at all

[@JustinJaiC.]

Daddy issues much?

[@jiggy7928]

Jai Courvoisier well I wouldn't necessary call it daddy issues on my end, its more issue on his end because of how he perceives the world.

[@JustinJaiC.]

James Trail Yeah, you have daddy issues. Get over it.

[@jiggy7928]

+Jai Courvoisier Yeah okay 👌

[@Shortlady82]

You should see the KZbin channel of the scapegoated daughter. She has a narcissistic mother and shares her experiences with others going through the same thing. And yes has mommy issues that's why she has nothing to do with her and life is much better. She made her daughters life a living hell.

[@AdLed]

honestly, till this day Rico Suave is one of my ALL TIME favorite songs, it was fun, nothing serious, just killer music and those horns, come on now, N.W.A. ? I know OF them, but I would never put ANY of their songs in the car, so whatever Awards Gerardo got for this classic - it was WELL deserved and who's to say that Rap supposed to be only one-way ???.... Thank you Gerardo for an amazing memory from my childhood and you bet I bough all the Cd singles and some 12" and keep them for the next generation....

[@razackchrist5096]

N.W.A are legends.

[@musicmitchy4296]

the worst thing that ever happened in hip hop history is Jerry Heller not allowing easy E to kill Suge when he was going to....... easy would have never been injected, tupac and biggie would be alive, and so much more.

[@arizonaFIREent]

Eazy*

[@redoinefaid8]

You have alot to learn son

[@RogzielTheAntistar]

wow. he's holding back a LOT. with a capital WOW.

[@PreeminentbrandsNet]

yeah you can tell

[@Luvie1980]

Suge Knight sounds like a crazy scary dude!

[@jordnkris]

He is. He's got that mob boss mantality.. That's why he's where he is now . It eventually catches up

[@Luvie1980]

Jordan Bolduc Truth.

[@MustafaAhmadahmadmawia]

Luvie1980 The Big Red of his day he ran the 90s lol

[@mistaseeforce]

Luvie1980 he's a monster

[@amirkhattabfernandez2439]

Luvie1980 The movie is going to be great! lol

[@lowkey213]

The music industry was mob influenced for the longest time, remember godfather, all the mob singers. Then it was Jewish mob run, like most CEOs today in entertainment, so not surprising to have less then a percentage of the U.S. Population dominate entertainment. Example, give me 100 superstars names, how many are Jewish? These things are a reality, keep the racist shit to yourself... Point is, why wouldn't a person like Suge come in and say we're gangsters on the street killing for free, let's be gangsters in the industry and make billions. So Ya, you owe me my check why the fuck not flip you and shake coins out your pocket, you doing it to others through contracts and court and public shaming, so fuck you pay me! Props to Suge!

[@dawolf4748]

he's right tho'... Suge, for a half a minute, was good for keeping the industry in line. nukka just went TO FAR!

[@LaCheleWallace]

Personally, I like Suge. I kinda like a brotha that throws his power around. Just big, tall and intimidating. Not saying it's right, but it's kinda intriguing being on the outside looking in. Knowing how record companies treat artists, you gotta shake they ass up a bit or you ain't gon get paid. Violence is not the answer, but DAMN! Pay me what I'm owed (fairly) or suffer the consequence. You don't play with black folk's money. This was a really good interview, Vladimir. I just love behind the scenes stories.

[@thatguyfrom313]

LaChele I agree.

[@traww9537]

“Don’t play with a black mans money” weezy is owed 51 mill from birdman and has had his tail tucked between his legs like a Bitch

[@mikebarnett3095]

8b>io

[@rogerwilliams4742]

I suppose you would liked to be by his sides catching stray hot ones too...? Smh...Kids.

[@rogerwilliams4742]

'have liked'

[@notknowing8674]

Suge is from Mississippi. Came out of nowhere and he reigned over the music industry for years and if wasn't banging so hard he probably still would be looking how dre turned out

[@blankerism4189]

so Mr Rico Suave had stories. who would of thought? very insightful into hip hop history as it pertained to Deathrow and Suge. and you can tell hes holding back details, a lot of them

[@KnoccturnalNovocane]

Andre Harrell story U didnt hear the Andre Harrell story AND THEN HE FREEZES WITH THE "OH SHIT!" FACE Lmfaoooooo

[@Broodjedoner]

When I was a kid I was told to behave or Suge Knight would come out from under my bed in the night and drag me to hell.

[@daniellemccarter5706]

Broodjedoner 😂

[@iMelanin]

LMFAOOOO. Sad.

[@whatwouldezrado]

One of the best interviews of the year. Gerardo was very candid about the behind the scenes we as consumers don't see or hear

[@mrsain19]

I enjoyed this updated Gerardo interview.

[@lxmorales1]

Good interview Vlad... more from Gerardo

[@Psycomantis1]

I will give props to Suge Knight for making the industry play fair. In a sense he was a necessary evil for a lot of artists at his peak, especially west coast ones. That being said, he is very menacing.

[@wmx2133]

***** No. Suge was a hypocrite. So, it wasn't okay for music executives to take advantage of the artists pre DR. But, when they were signed to his label, he didn't pay them what they were owed. Pac died with little money in the bank compared to the albums he sold. Just ask RBX, Lady of Rage, Dre, Snoop, Dogg Pound, etc.

[@TheReparationsForum]

😂😂😂😂😂 Suge was so bad he scared the white folks

[@wmx2133]

Caleb Mathis Suge scared black folks too. I bet you would be scared of him if he ran up on you and put his hands on you.

[@luyandamwandla6113]

Vanilla ice 😂

[@rayariamal8540]

Just wanted to say, this station is amazing. Vlad's personality and approach to interviews, are second to none. Very, very insightful..., keep them coming, I watch them all...80s and 90s Rap

[@icfwu]

he not dropping dimes, the industry and the streets know all these stories

[@franktalk5037]

"Rico Suave" was one of the funniest videos of all time. First time I saw that shit I was cracking up.

[@Shortlady82]

My cousin and I literally in tears laughing when that video came out.

[@franktalk5037]

lilsexy1982 haha! I honestly don't think Geraldo realizes to this day how comical that song was.

[@gabarbanyasharalla1443]

The brother Gerardo was in the movie Colors- as a LA Gang member

[@mstate_]

VLAD is so messy.

[@conscut]

I find it interesting that Suge is the "thug and gangster" but he was "necessary" to get artist paid! Who are the real thugs in this?

[@rogerwilliams4742]

It's what he did AFTER that. HE wanted to be the one taking advantage of the artists.

[@VisionaryMedia24]

have u ever seen wilson fisk and suge knight in the same place at the same time

[@JasonH6978]

Gerardo looks so shook

[@whayes8084]

cause he dry snitching

[@joeljuarezrip]

Because he’s a non affiliated gang groupie! What you expect?

[@HomeboyChris]

Hey look Jodece's manager got pissed on too, not just Drake.

[@galileoshift8330]

dude had the hit that rocked the industry

[@WuBloodKin09]

Mexican Vanilla Ice....lmaoooo!!!!

[@HoneyBearLife]

The original Pitbull!

[@loveleighladey7945]

He's Ecuadorian

[@HoneyBearLife]

@@loveleighladey7945 hes human🤓

[@walterharris4681]

I remember in the fall of 1990 when he first came out with "Rico Suave". You should have seen most (if not all) of the white and latina girls at the high school i went to when they talked about music - especially him. Man, the thirst they had was real for this dude back in the day.

[@boimoney09]

Detective Vladimir on deck every interview 🔬🔭🕵🏻

[@on2wheels378]

Vlad always tried to catch someone 'dry snitching.' haha.

[@thatguyfrom313]

Those labels didn't pay those artists and Suge was the one with thr balls to check them executives. No wonder Damon Dash had problems with them. Ice Cube didn't come into Priority with a bat for nothing.

[@skay6205]

is anyone even surprised ??

[@KingJamesKingChaos]

I remember seeing Rico Suave on the Jukebox like every day. along with ABC "Playground" and "your momma's on crack rock" circa 1991

[@mjg239]

VLAD can you interview Lighter Shade of Brown, they were a very popular latino hip hop group in L.A. around the time Gerardo was popular.

[@ttenkrut]

excellent interview.,.,

[@bostonbadboy293]

The original player that got hated, for real. He was doing it big back in the day with movies and music.

[@superduperboyx]

Love hearing his stories, he keeps it real. Is there a part 2 of this? Lol. Man Jimmy Iovine must have a hell of a time dealing with Suge.

[@BrockSampsonNA]

Real humble dude. He's a preacher now.

[@underworldfilms86]

This is why I'm going to dual train in martial arts and boxing!!!

[@RosannaRS]

Where is this full interview?

[@MrKAHutch]

Surprisingly good interview.

[@erwinrogers9470]

Excellent interview 👏

[@DuneSpice]

outstanding interview

[@clford07]

8:25...you didn't hear the Andre Harrell story? His look was like...aww shit...lol

[@orkahn31]

Excellent interview

[@raisethevolume5388]

VLAD! you were supposed to say "OH YEAH! that andre story i remember that, why do you think it went down?" ... you can tell from the vibe he wasnt coughing up any real info that is unknown to media

[@ThatBoyDarren]

5:30 reminds me of the movie Friday when Deebo would pull up lol

[@turnerj3699]

He's dropping far too many dimes

[@franktalk5037]

Jamal Turner so what

[@yayomartinez1644]

Jamal Turner yea as if Suge Knight doing that isnt public record bro, theres law suits against him that mention these things,its public knowledge.facts

[@MrWARBUCKS24]

this shit was over 20yrs ago

[@justicewillrise1471]

Sho is but least people or shud i say sum checked suge after the fact i remember snoop goin bodyguard hard on him snoop was rolling wit crips an suge kept on puttin out his music an snoop recorded a number of disses towards suge prob most known is of Paid Cost be Boss " Pimp Slap'd"

[@amandaflorez2251]

Jamal Turner who cares he killed Eazy E

[@THETRAVELGOD410]

Good interview.

[@causendeffect1511]

THE THINGS THATS GOING ON WITH SUGE THESE DAYS IS PURE KARMA

[@EastEZ82]

Whoa why am I just now hearing this

[@Gunnar.J]

Where’s the Full interview!??

[@QuadrantBottomHalf]

And that's why Dre was 1 of the 1st to bounce. He didn't want no part of that evil. I wouldn't want anything to do with Suge or anyone affiliated. I wish I could sit down with someone that was there and have them run them stories to me. Love em.

[@lastchancerecordings9047]

DUDE WAS IN COLORS.......CLASSIC

[@Saennuc]

Suge was a hero to artist that was getting ripped off. Jodeci sold 5million albums and was broke in the 90s that's wrong!!!

[@OmarScruggs]

He said it was 1993. NWA had been broken up by then. And Gangsta Gangsta was 1988

[@chilltown82]

gerardo was that dude in 1990 with the rico suave

[@elchiludo]

cool interview,gerardo seams like a real cool guy

[@destinygamez6902]

Ecuador is in the house 🇪🇨🇪🇨🇪🇨

[@kweli05]

When did he stop doing his talk show?

[@alansullivan917]

This Is Where Karceno Got His Story From, SMFH, He Just Added A Twist To It!!

[@denmark555]

Suge took it too far, but the fact remains, he fixed a lot of fucked up contracts and had those paper gangsters shook. The other artist he got out of a bad contract was Mary J Blige, as well as Jodeci.

[@williamdean4775]

Guys don't realize. Artists make money.. but the people who sign the artists paycheck who you've never heard of have the real money.

[@rossee2033]

Suge was an educated street dude who was aware of how corrupt the music industry was and currently still is... Suge set a certain tone them including the ones in the back!!

[@WrestlinGifs]

He seems like a cool, nice guy

[@williamnoel181]

This video is about to blow up

[@dawolf4748]

what's funny is when he mentions Andre Harrels name ..and Vlad(which I don't believe)is dumb founded.. Gerardo is like..."oops! "

[@MaadAzzGang]

Clive Davis

[@killaskrilla5320]

Lol i remember i seen this dude on Beavis & Butthead back in the day... I was like THATS the dude from Colors?....Rico Suaveeeeee... LMAO

[@RogzielTheAntistar]

suge threatened DOUG MORRIS!!!??? OH sh!t this clip is WAY more interesting than i thought it would be.

[@RogzielTheAntistar]

AND he held doug morris DOWN???!!! i can't wow with a capital WOW enough.

[@RogzielTheAntistar]

about andre harell: that and MORE. capital WOW squared.

[@llong3316]

Listen to Rico suave while putting on your best fit before the club...swag and confidence on 1000

[@on2wheels378]

Gerardo? Does he still work in artist development at Interscope?

[@cubedmack]

Since Suge is in jail Vlad needs to get Gerado back on and ask him some more question about the Death Row stories.

[@diegofonseca6708]

So they were hating on my Latino people in hip hop even back then?? Smh wow… the song Rico Suave is a classic and damn good damn catchy so I don’t get the hate…

[@hahakjfdd]

*gerardo talking about himself at the LA awards* Vlad: anything that Tupac did at interscope?

[@propaneK1982]

A real OG. I remember as a kid hearing in a report about him fucking up the bassist from Motley Crue.

[@ceezzee513]

Gerardo about to have suge knightmares after this