‘The Defiant Ones’ Recap, Episode 3: When Jimmy Met Dre (And Suge)

HBO‘s The Defiant Ones is a new 4-part music documentary about supposed musical odd-couple Dr. Dre, of N.W.A. fame, and hit classic rock producer and Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine. While the series’ advance press makes much ado about their supposed racial and musical differences, in truth they share many similarities, most importantly an ear for sonic perfection and making hit-records. Their greatest difference is that where Iovine exhibited a gift for networking and deal making, Dre is as much a musician and artist as he is a producer.

Episodes One and Two chronicled Iovine and Dre’s rise from working class roots to paying their dues and finding both success and disappointment. Episode Three tells the story of how they came together during gangsta rap’s Golden Age, made a lot of money, and barely got out alive. At nearly an hour and a half, it is the series’ longest episode and also its most interesting. Directed by Menace II Society filmmaker Allen Hughes, the series has played with gangster mythos throughout, and in Episode Three we finally meet the real thing in infamous Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight.

The episode begins with a montage of Iovine’s old school Brooklyn upbringing; rumbles, graft and gangsters of the Mafioso kind. While Bono says Iovine is “attracted to rage,” and “likes blood and bombs,” former Interscope urban music exec Steve Stoute says he suffers from “Italian short man complex.” The latter rings true as we see the diminutive record company man sit in a chair carved to look like a bear and express his admiration of the animals ability to hunt you down on land and in water.

Cut to Snoop Dogg holding court in Long Beach, California. The smooth-talking, lanky MC would by the breakout star of Dr. Dre’s debut solo album; however, as an active member of infamous Crips gang, he was also a direct link to Los Angeles’ turbulent gang culture. What would become 1992’s The Chronic, was created during all-night recording sessions and parties at Dre’s new home studio, fueled by powerful hydroponically-grown marijuana (according to Snoop, his mispronunciation of “hydroponic” as “hydro-chronic” led to the naming of the album).

As Dre crafted a gangsta rap classic, Iovine put together Interscope Records, one of the most influential labels of the 1990s. Fearful of being left behind at what he rightfully saw as the dawn of a new musical era, Iovine stepped out from behind the mixing desk and into the boardroom, overseeing the signing of such disparate acts as hunky Hispanic rapper Gerardo, funk-metal weirdoes Primus and ska-band turned top-40-poppers No Doubt. Iovine always felt more comfortable with artists than record executives and was also tireless in his pursuit of those he believed in, granting them complete creative control.

In Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine found a fellow studio geek with an ear for sonic perfection and immediately recognized his talent and hit making ability. While other white execs were scared by gangsta rap, Iovine saw it as a continuation of rock n’ roll’s rebel spirit. And in Death Row head Suge Knight, he found what he thought was a protégé, someone whom he could teach the ins and outs of the record business. However, the imposing former football player and bodyguard had his own gang affiliations and way of doing things, usually by force.

While the hits immediately started flowing from Interscope’s association with Death Row, so too did the trouble. Snoop Dogg was arrested for murder, Tupac Shakur was arrested for rape, and Dre caught a 5-month sentence after a high-speed drunken car chase on the L.A. freeway. And while Dre’s sleek and seductive production style brought gangsta rap to the top of the pop charts, Interscope’s alternative artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson used classic shock rock tactics to upset the status quo. Somewhere, somebody was eventually going to get pissed.

Political pressure led to partial owner Time Warner trying to gain control over its unruly stable of gangsta rappers. Seeking to undermine Iovine’s influence, they tried to cut a side deal with Knight, which went awry in hilarious fashion (the documentary is worth watching for that story alone). They then tried to buy Iovine and his partners out of the company, which the scrappy Brooklynite rebuffed against the advice of his lawyers. Time Warner eventually divested themselves from Interscope, who almost immediately turned around and struck a lucrative new distribution deal with MCA. It was a big win for the label and its roster, but unfortunately its biggest money earner was about to go up in flames.

Dr. Dre got out of jail right as a feud between rival factions of East Coast and West Coast rappers made the jump from diss tracks to drive-by shootings. On top of that, violence inside Death Row’s actual offices spiraled out of control. Despite interviews with such major players as Dre, Snoop and Bad Boy Records founder Puff Daddy, their reluctance to speak directly on camera about what they witnessed speaks to how real the violence was, with Tupac Shakur being its most famous victim. By the end of 1996, Dre had left Death Row behind. It was time to build a new family.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.

Watch The Defiant Ones on HBO Go