"Shady Bizzness: " Life as Eminem's Bodyguard in an Industry of Paper Gangsters" (8 page)

Death Row at the Dr. Dre Break Up to Make Up Reunion, September
24, 1999. My wife and I were out, as kind of a make-up thing for me having
to miss her birthday due to touring. My wife, the whole Shady Tours crew,
and I were loaded up to go to Hawaii, a six-hour flight from LA. It was
a beautiful flight going out, and everybody was having fun talking about
what they were going to do: this, that, and the other. That changed very
quickly because as soon as the plane doors opened, airport security and
Honolulu police were there to escort us from our airplane safely to our
vehicles, telling us they would send our luggage later. We couldn’t figure
out what was going on, we just thought they were giving us extra escorts.
But they were like, “No, we are coming to inform you that there are like
thirty guys here from Death Row Records, and from what we understand
they were on the same plane as Snoop Dogg, and they were antagonizing
him, talking some shit. ” I’m thinking, Man, we are in Hawaii, trying to chill!
Damn! The whole mood went from having a good time to drama. When
the plane doors opened, everything changed. It was like we walked into a
jungle of fire. Things just got hot quickly, and I’m telling myself, This shit
is not happening! This is not happening. Immediately, I’m thinking, OK
I need to send my wife back home. She is going to be mad, but this shit
is about to get ugly. Anytime you got thirty Death Row guys flying from
Cali to Hawaii to try to start some shit, to try to pause the Break Up to
Make Up Reunion, man you know there’s about to be some shit.That took
some masterful planning. Anybody that does that, you got to have much
respect for.You got to have much respect for that because that’s organized.
They got long arms!! That told me right there that they could reach out
anywhere at any given time and get to you, whether it be Dre, Snoop, or
Eminem. They didn’t give a fuck! I learned that real quickly. SHIT! I was
totally blown away. And if I had to say there was one time I was scared, that
was the time, because they caught me totally by surprise for the second
time. I wasn’t expecting to see them there. You know, you are in Hawaii
and you are expecting to enjoy the beach, the sun, the food, but all that
shit quickly changed. The whole setting changed because everyone went
from, “Ahh, Hawaii” to “Oh, shit!” It was ugly. Finally, we got Honolulu
police and airport security to escort us to our vehicle. Immediately Sarge
and Rowe put Dre in a van at the back of the airport where Death Row
couldn’t see them, and they fled. They busted up. They are pretty good
at handling stuff like that. Me, I was only one person and didn’t have a
second person I could set up and organize with or anything. It was just
me, and I had to do everything at the same time as watching Slim. It was
pretty hectic. Unfortunately, we had to go out the front door. There were
some police officers that were working with us as extra added security
coming from California. So we had to wait a while because some had to
get their guns and their vests, which were still in their luggage. They lost
my luggage, but I didn’t have anything in it anyway, but the whole point
was we are here in Hawaii, Death Row is out here, and they are starting
shit. It was instant stress and instant drama. I was freaking out because I
was mad now. I had invited my wife to come out, and I knew she was going
to have an attitude, so I was worried about her, and I had to worry about
Slim, who was crazy. The happy mood was broken. Everybody got their
luggage except me; they sent mine later to the hotel. We all got in the van,
and the mood went from everybody talking about having fun and chasing
women to complete silence. I mean, all you saw was everybody putting
on their bulletproof vests, loading and cocking their Glocks, pulling back
their hammers, the whole nine, checking their guns, and all you could
hear was “click-click, snap, pop. ”We were like, damn! About half a block
down all you could see were these red-and-black jerseys; these guys had
on strictly red and black. It was them Death Row cats.

They had made it known that they were in the house, and it worked.
So we pulled off in the van, with the Honolulu police as an escort, and
headed to our hotel. The drama began at the hotel. Immediately, we had
switched Snoop from the hotel he was at, which was the venue where
they were going to be performing a show in the banquet hall. Death Row
was apparently staying at the same hotel where Snoop was, so we had to
get Snoop from that hotel to our hotel, and we had the Honolulu police
surround the perimeter of the whole hotel. Anybody who looked like they
didn’t belong there was stopped and questioned, people from Xzibit to
Snoop to Dre to their wives to their girlfriends to their kids. No one could
leave the premises without proper escort. It was basically demanded that
no one go anywhere. I think we were on the best part of the island, and we
got the best hotel on the beach, so everything we needed was right there
on the spot—the bar, the swimming pool, everything. We really didn’t
have to go anywhere, but it just rained on the whole parade. We were all
confined to our rooms, and all the artists, such as Xzibit, Dre, Snoop, and
Eminem, had to have two police officers on twelve-hour shifts outside of
their rooms. Anytime we went anywhere we had numerous bodyguards, so
there were a good twelve bodyguards among us, and there were like, two
police officers for every two bodyguards. We were deep, so basically we
outnumbered them, but it was just the point of being uncomfortable.

We couldn’t go anywhere, we couldn’t sleep in peace, and we
were worried about the drama, what was going to happen next. I had my
wife here trying to celebrate her birthday. It was miserable, but we made
the most of it. My thing was in a situation like that you worry about the
women because they are the weakest link. I guess my mind really got the
best of me because I was thinking, They’re going to target me because
I’m Slim’s bodyguard, and he’s the new guy, and the way to him is get to
me. I brought my wife along, and it’s her birthday, and they might try to
approach her. I was just really tripping’ out at this point. Now, I knew to
expect the unexpected whenever I was with Slim. “Yo, this shit is getting
crazy. ” I couldn’t deal with it, you know. Everybody was stressed out. Folks
were mad, people were miserable, everybody’s women had attitudes, and
you couldn’t blame them because it was supposed to be a time in paradise,
but it turned into a time of terror in Hawaii. We finally got everything
situated and organized and secured the premises. Every artist’s door
was secure on a 24-hour basis. And then some of the drama began. The
second night, we had to do a sound check for the show and, mind you,
the sound check was at the same hotel where Death Row was staying,
and they tried to bombard the facility; they tried to bum-rush the sound
check, and there were quite a few of them.The numbers were pretty equal,
you could figure, between the artists and the bodyguards; maybe we had
them outnumbered by about ten or fifteen guys. But my point was that
these guys weren’t from Hawaii but flew from California to start some
shit, and they were organized. From what I understood, they had two offduty police officers that were down with them to basically help them get
through a lot of the bullshit. A couple of the security personnel knew this
and notified hotel security not to let these guys on the premises period,
even though they stayed in the hotel, and not to let them anywhere near
the banquet level.

When everyone from Dre’s camp, Xzibit’s camp, and Snoop’s camp
all found out that Death Row was trying to bombard the sound check, they
went downstairs to confront the issue, but the police stopped it and sent

everybody back up, and I was just like, Yo, I’m staying with Slim because
he isn’t trying to run off. I was just holding him down and letting him
know what was going on, and he was kind of nervous—and drinking to
ease his nerves—and from that point on it was just really nerve-racking
because we didn’t know what to expect. That night during the show, we
had to get back on extra watch because these guys made the statement
that they were going to rush the stage, and none of the bodyguards that
night could have their weapons because of a hotel security rule. And the
police officers were the only ones allowed to carry weapons. But it went
down pretty smoothly. The only problem I ran into was one of the police
escorts disappeared on us, the one who was supposed to take us out to our
van through the back way out the venue. It was really upsetting Slim, it
really bothered me, and I chewed that guy’s ass something terrible because
he was supposed to be working under our command. We had hired the
Honolulu Police Department specifically to follow what we requested them
to do. It wasn’t ego tripping, but our lives were at stake, and we didn’t have
room for any mistakes, and when this guy didn’t meet us where he was
supposed to meet us, it made me real nervous, and it made Slim nervous.
We had to sit and wait on this guy, and I finally decided, hey, we’re going
to move without this guy.We couldn’t take these kinds of chances because
we had to beat the mob out of there because there was going to be a crowd
of people as far as groupies and whatnot, and if Death Row was going to
do something, that would be the opportune time to do it. We left about
fifteen minutes before the show actually ended.

We got in our van and had a police escort take us back. Everything
went pretty smoothly up to that point, even though the situation was still
nerve-racking, without having the original Honolulu police escort there.
I had all kinds of thoughts going through my mind, like maybe they paid
this guy off, why was this guy missing at this point in time? You know? He
had a radio, and I had been talking to him on the radio, so there was no
form of miscommunication, so where was he? But eventually he did show
up at the hotel, and you should have seen us, it was incredible the way we
were moving! For the first time, I didn’t have anybody lagging behind, and
my big thing was keeping my wife near me. I told her stay near me; even
though I was working with Slim she should stay near me. I had to keep an
eye on her, too. It made my job kind of difficult, but she was a good sport
and did everything she was supposed to. I sent her up to the room, and I
took Slim up to his room and made sure he got in safely. Paul and Slim
gave me numerous amounts of gratitude for a job well done that night.
They appreciated, for once, what I represented. I tucked them in for the
night as they chanted, “We’re alive! We’re alive!” Upon leaving, I posted
two Honolulu police officers outside Slim’s door for twelve hours. We all
slept well because Honolulu police secured the perimeter of the hotel, the
lobby, and each entertainer’s floor. Thank God!!!!

It was the next day, and our problems were far from over. It was
time to go, but Slim was finishing a rendezvous with Nicole from the night
before. He was really pushing time because we were close to missing the
flight. He continued to take his time, as usual. As he was preparing to
leave, I went to talk to Sarge and Rowe (Dre’s security). They told me that
Dre, Snoop, Xzibit, and the rest of their crew decided to stay another day.
I thought we were all flying back together, considering all the drama with
Death Row, but it was cool. Or at least I thought. Slim’s crew was a little
disappointed that no one told them about the change of travel plans. Upon
arriving at the airport, I was on the lookout for any Death Row members.
I was still uneasy about the events that took place. The plane began to
board, and everything was calm.We were the last ones boarding the plane,
and the flight attendant made the last-call announcement. I’m thinking
to myself, This is going to be a good flight! No Death Row guys in sight!
Just as were buckling our seat belts and the doors were closing, I heard
“Hold that door, hold that door!” Now, I was thinking, oh, shit! It can’t be!
Death Row was in the house, and they were thirteen deep! Immediately,
I jumped out of my seat to tell Dean (Slim’s A&R person) to call Jimmy
Iovine at Interscope. I said, “Call Jimmy right now! Tell him to have some
off-duty LAPD officers at the terminal door when we land because Death
Row is on this plane! I also need a cargo van with someone to get our
luggage, plus two limos, one limo as a decoy. Tell Jimmy to come through
for us or we’re FUCKED!!!!!” I went right to first class and alerted Paul
and Slim of the situation.

Paul’s reply was, “You got to be fucking kidding me! “I said, “It’s real
man. I’ve got us set up with some added security from LAPD when we
land. Jimmy Iovine has already been notified, and everything is in place. ”
Slim was already out for the count because he had taken a Valium earlier.
I made my rounds and informed the whole crew. In the midst of doing
my job, one the guys from Death Row tried flirting with my wife. I didn’t
overreact, because it may have been a ploy. I stayed focused and awake.
These Death Row guys made their presence known. I was outnumbered.
I remained calm. I knew they wouldn’t do too much on the plane with
the US Marshals regulations. If it wasn’t for my quick thinking and calm
reactions, there’s no telling what the outcome could have been.

About four hours passed, and I was trying to relax a little bit but
not too much. All I did was read my Bible, and that was the only thing I
had to get me through. As soon as I put down my Bible, in came the devil.
One of the Death Row guys walked past me with a couple of bottles of
Hennessy in his hands. He turned toward me with a grim look, as if he
knew I was with Slim. I said to myself, “OK, I can’t trip.There are thirteen
of them and only one of me. I’m my only backup. ” I was watching the
guy and thought he was going to use the bathroom in first class. He was
looking back at me the whole time, agitating me. He walked right by the
bathroom and entered into first class where Slim was sitting. I proceeded
to follow, and the Death Row guys got up and followed me. I saw the guy
looking for Slim. I notified the flight attendant of the situation. She made
an announcement for the group of guys who were following me to have a
seat. I didn’t approach the guy yet because he possibly could have known
someone else in first class. Then he made a beeline right to Slim. He
tapped Slim, who was asleep. I intervened, “My man, can I help you with
something?” And he was like, “Naw, you can’t help me with shit. ” I said,
“Let’s start over. Slim has had a long weekend, as you know. He is asleep
now and is not trying to kick it about no business right now. You are up
here in first class making these people uncomfortable. ” The guy was like,
“Man, why are you tripping?” I told him, “I’m not tripping, I’m being very
polite. Slim is not trying to kick it about any business right now! If you
need to talk business, here is his manager, Paul Rosenberg. He handles all
of his business conversations. ”We started to argue back and forth. By this
time Slim was up, and he wanted to hear what the guy had to say. I backed
up and let them talk, while watching Slim’s facial expressions.

The guy was talking so low in Slim’s ear that I couldn’t hear what he
was saying over the noise of the plane. Later on, I found out that the guy
said, “Now, you know I could have jumped up on that stage the other night
and fucked you up! But instead of fucking you up, I’ll kick some business.
You need to come on and work with me! I got some good groups, and
we can help each other out. You need to leave Dre alone anyway, because
he’s a buster!” Slim told him, “I don’t appreciate you coming up here
and waking me up, then bad-mouthing Dre. Plus trying to strong-arm me
into working with you. Man, I don’t work like that!” I stepped in and said,
“That’s enough man! You need to go on back to your seat because you
are agitating him. ” He was like, “Man, who the fuck are you? You don’t
know nothing about me!” I said, “Well, you don’t know nothing about me
either! But you are going to find out as soon as we get off this plane! Why
don’t you get back to your seat and we can all enjoy the rest of this flight.
It doesn’t have to be like this. ” He replied, “You are supposed to be Slim’s
bodyguard or something?” I said “Yea, that and a little bit more. ” The guy
said, “Alright!” and went back to his seat. The people around us sensed
the tension and knew that we weren’t together.

Paul asked,“Was that one of the Death Row guys?” I said,“You know
that was one of the Death Row guys, man, so don’t even ask me that shit!
You knew they were on this plane! There are thirteen of them and only
one of me. ” I’m a strong, big fellow, but I couldn’t handle them all. They
had the upper hand. This is why I always stressed getting vests for us. We
needed additional security. By this time, my wife sent the stewardess up
to check on me before I could make it back to check on her, and I told the
stewardess what was going on. She started to panic, but I reassured her
that we had everything under control. I asked Dean, the A&R guy, if he
was absolutely sure that Jimmy Iovine had called and set up the off-duty