DX: As a centerpiece in this beef, was Tupac the man that was portrayed in the media?
BW: 'Pac was a real level-headed dude. You could talk to him about everything. The only thing about 'Pac that was fucked up was that he had too many “yes” men. He had nobody to pull his coat and say, “We’ve clowned enough, let’s move on.” 'Pac was going to be a politician. He would rap on wack beats and make them dope. You listened to 'Pac to see what he said. How many rappers do you really listen to what he has to say. Like Eminem. Nobody really listened for his music. They want to hear what he’s got to say.

DX: Was there ever a time when you thought the Pac/Suge/Dre beef could be reconciled?
BW: Before the stabbing incident at the Vibe Award show, Dre turned to me and said, “I think I’m going to do something with Suge, we’re young black men that did so many great things together, maybe we can turn it around,” and then (the Vibe Awards stabbing) happened.

DX: So what was the atmosphere like when trying to figure out the next move after Death Row?
BW: We would go back and forth to Jimmy Iovine’s house trying to figure out what to do. Then Dre called a meeting at his house to say he was going to leave Death Row. His mom was supposed to start a clothing line. Me and Phillip Atwell were supposed to do movies. I was going to help putting Aftermath together. I was the guy who started Aftermath with him.

We was first going to be called Black Market. There was a company in San Francisco with the same name and wanted a million dollars for it. So we changed that and came up with Aftermath.

DX: So what was your role now?
BW: What I did for Dre was far beyond what an assistant would do. He wasn’t just my boss, he was my best friend. I did everything. Everything that everybody does at Aftermath, I did by myself for Dre at Death Row. When we went to Aftermath I hired some people to make my job a little easier. My title at Aftermath was VP of operations even though Dre said I could have whatever title I wanted.

DX: What about the money? Did the financial situation improve?
BW: Dre was never signed to Death Row. He was just a co-owner. He was always signed to Interscope and to Jimmy. When Dre walked away the money didn’t change. He got more at Aftermath. Suge used to have a garage full of cars and Dre would have only two. He didn’t really start making money until he started Aftermath.

DX: In your book you say “Dre is not a businessman.” Some may think that’s a shot at Dr. Dre in the music biz…
BW: When I say Dre’s not a businessman, I say that because he’s a producer and a man that loves music. Dre loves the studio. He didn’t want to do anything else. He’s outgrown Hip Hop. I’ve got ideas that he had of blending Opera and Hip Hop together that’s phenomenal. At one time he wanted to make an instrumental album about how the planets sound.

He really wants to be known for something more than just Hip Hop music. He wants to be studied by professors on his music. Since he has started to play guitar and learn to read music, it showed him an entirely different world.

“You might think it was all hunky-dory, escaping from the everyday Blood rawness to form Aftermath but you would be wrong. The game was still dirty at Interscope, only the beatdowns took place in boardrooms rather than alleys. “ – pgs 112-113

DX: What were the differences between Death Row and Aftermath?
BW: With Suge, he was a figure that everyone was scared of. With that being said, it keeps a lot of bullshit away. No pettiness. That wasn’t happening at Death Row. When we switched to Aftermath, you didn’t have that big presence so everyone went their own separate ways. Everybody wanted to be the man. People wanted to be as close to Dre as I was. It just got so fake and phony and I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. Even though it was gangster at Death Row, it was a little bit better. At Aftermath, what Jimmy says, goes. That’s the bottom line.

DX: Were there any other deals on the table for Dre? And why stick with Jimmy Iovine?
BW: Dre has turned down deal after deal. Jimmy is the dude he’s going to stick with through thick and thin. And the reason he’s going to stick with Jimmy is because after Dre did “Deep Cover,” he went to every record company out there. You know none of them motherfuckers gave him a deal? Sony told Dre “I don’t see nobody else knocking down your door.” Jimmy was the only one who would give him a deal.
I got a lot of respect for Jimmy; he’s smart as a motherfucker and he understands that this is a business. He knows the things he has to do in order to keep his business. Continued on page 3 »