Although he has since reconciled with Suge Knight, there was a time when things between Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records were literally deadly serious. Shortly after Tupac’s murder in 1996, Snoop wanted to make peace with Bad Boy Records and end the East Coast/West Coast beef once and for all, but Suge Knight was not at all pleased with the suggestion. After Knight learned about what Snoop wanted to do, there was a significant cooling in the relationship between the two men and, at one point, Knight literally was trying to end the MC’s life. Though Suge was widely-feared in the industry at the time, one man stepped up to come to Snoop’s assistance: Master P. In a recent conversation with Elliott Wilson as part of his CRWN series, Snoop detailed just how much the No Limit general changed his life.

Snoop Wanted To End The Death Row/Bad Boy Beef In 1996 But Was Shut Down By Suge (Video)

“After Tupac passed away, that’s when I ran into some problems with Death Row, because they was mad, and it was really, really serious for me. Really, really, really serious for me,” Snoop told Wilson, repeating himself for emphasis (10:30). He continued, “So Master P stepped up, and Master P said ‘I’ma go deal with Suge. What do you want?'” Snoop told P what was important to him, and the man born Percy Miller negotiated his release from Death Row.

Master P Says He Saved Snoop Dogg’s Life, Wants Tyler Perry To Direct Biopic (Video)

Beyond extricating Snoop from a contract, however, Master P taught him a whole new way of life. In addition to securing his freedom, Snoop said Master P “gave me some money, got me a house in New Orleans, bought me two [Chevrolet] Suburbans, put it all in my name. This is the first time anything was in my name. Everything was in Suge Knight’s name…Brought my family to New Orleans, and just showed me how to live and to slow down and to do business. ‘Cause I was learning the show, but I didn’t know the business. Just a stand-up guy.” In further driving home the distinction between how Master P handled business and what he’d experienced at Death Row, Snoop emphasized that the way he was being treated was the way all No Limit artists were handled. “One thing about him, when he was in control of the business, he ran his business the way you really want to see a business ran, to where everybody had something and everybody was accountable. So, he wasn’t just giving you nothing for nothing. You had to earn that. And, when you earned it, you put it in your name, and he taught you how to earn it and how to lose. So, if you lost it, it’s your fault.”

Snoop Explains Why He Befriended Suge Knight After Knight Tried To Have Him Killed (Video)

In other parts of the episode, Snoop talks about working with Pharrell, his new album Coolaid being a response to Beyonce’s Lemonade, his desire to overturn convictions of people incarcerated for selling marijuana, being Hip-Hop’s peacekeeper and more. Click here to watch the full video.