LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Helecia Choyce, a former Death Row Records artist known as SKG, signed with the label in the late 1990s going into the 2000s, she said.
Choyce said she was part of what she calls the label’s “second dynasty,” joining after Tupac Shakur’s death.
MORE ON FOX5: Tupac murder trial enters day three of witness testimony
Life at Death Row Records
“I come from the second dynasty so by the time I was signed on Tupac was deceased so I am part of the dynasty after that and it was a good atmosphere,” Choyce said. She said the label’s main focus at the time was “pushing out albums and trying to get back on top as a whole.”
Choyce said Shakur’s impact on hip-hop stemmed from his background. “I think that Tupac, people fail to realize Tupac spoke for the ghetto; that was the beginning of who he was. He come from struggle, type of mother he had, Mrs. Afeni Shakur, beautiful person, and I just think that his impact came within and it went out to the world because he was such an authentic person,” she said. Choyce said she speaks “not only as a rapper at the label but also as a fan,” because she was a fan before signing with the label.
Meeting Tupac before Death Row
Choyce said she met Shakur when she was younger, before she signed with Death Row Records. She said he was shooting a music video at the time.
“He was just in the 90s, everybody loved Tupac and he shot a lot of videos in LA because he was representing LA, Compton. He shot scenes down Crenshaw. All of us back then we were just fans,” Choyce said. She said Shakur represented “not only the hip-hop culture but the Black community but also other minorities,” pointing to support for him among Latino and Asian communities.
On Tupac’s associations
Asked whether Shakur got caught up with the wrong crowd, Choyce said she viewed him as “a visionary” who “spoke for the ghetto.” She said she agreed with Mob James that Shakur “got caught up in somebody else’s drama,” referring to a conflict between Suge Knight and Sean “Puffy” Combs. Choyce said Knight “used that to his advantage because he thought Biggie got him shot or set it up.” She said Shakur “should have been better protected.”
Death Row-Bad Boy Records rivalry
Choyce said the rivalry between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records did not stop after Shakur’s death. She said she had firsthand knowledge of the conflict through a cousin from the “south side Compton crip” gang.
“The beef was crazy, the impact was crazy for the streets,” Choyce said, describing it as dangerous and sad. She said the conflict extended from Compton to the music industry and put “a bad light” on Bad Boy Records.
Asked about testimony from Mob James McDonald in court the day before, describing a gang war after Shakur’s death, Choyce said she was speaking “from a very young perspective,” noting she was not from the same neighborhood but had family connections that gave her information.
“It’s people getting killed, losing their lives, people going to jail,” Choyce said.
She described the reaction to Shakur’s death as “a black cloud over the West Coast,” saying she saw grown gang members crying and elderly people affected. “You had people depressed when the community didn’t know what depression meant. You felt it, you saw it,” she said.
Choyce said she called the hospital after Shakur was shot and spoke with his aunt, who told her he was “hanging in there” and “doing good.” She said she was devastated by his death.
Choyce said watching Mob James testify appeared traumatic for him. “I don’t think he had the right words to say, it was traumatizing for him to relive that experience, but he didn’t know how to say that on the stand,” she said.
Reaction to courtroom moment with Keffe D
Choyce said she was not surprised when Mob James looked at Duane “Keffe D” Davis in court and apologized. She said that even at 61 years old, James is “still living by the street code.”
“For him it had to make sense for him to apologize so his peers wouldn’t think he was snitching,” she said.
Why she is covering the trial
Choyce, now 30 years removed from Shakur’s death, said she wanted to be present for the trial because of her history as a fan and her connection to the label.
“I was a fan of Pac, I’m still a fan. I’m on Tupac’s album. I was able to get fans just by being on Death Row and being signed,” she said. “I owe it to myself, I owe it to the fans to report the trial and use my platform to report everything going on.”
On Suge Knight’s recent comments
Choyce responded to a recent TMZ interview in which Suge Knight, speaking from jail, mentioned her by name. She said she and Knight “don’t see eye to eye right now.”
Choyce said when she was younger and around Death Row, she was impressionable. “The image I had of Suge, it was the image I had younger, he did give me a shot,” she said. She said as she got older, her view of Knight changed. “Suge divides and conquers and he is a manipulator. I feel like a big reason why Tupac isn’t here is because of Suge Knight,” she said.
Choyce disputed Knight’s claim that she was working with Davis. “I don’t know Keffe D,” she said. She said Knight made the claim because she does not respond to his calls. “That is Suge, he did that because I don’t answer his calls. I don’t like how Suge operates, I don’t like how he manipulates,” she said.
Choyce said Knight has a tattoo of Shakur. She said she used to defend Knight against claims that he was responsible for Shakur’s death. She said she and Knight once discussed the claims. “He said, ‘SK, Afeni came to visit me and I told her if you feel I got your son killed you never have to talk to me again,’ and she said, ‘I don’t feel like you got my son killed,’” Choyce said.
Choyce said Shakur is godfather to one of Knight’s children. She said she defended Knight in her “younger days” but views him differently now.
Asked whether she believes Knight will testify as he is on the witness list as the trial enters its third day — Choyce said Knight told her when they were on good terms that he planned to testify and negotiate a deal for an earlier release. She said her last conversation with Knight was eight months ago. “With Suge you never know, he always has a wild card,” she said.
Interaction with Reggie Wright Jr.
Choyce described an interaction with Reggie Wright, described as Death Row Records’ former security officer and a former Compton police officer, during a moment in court where the two made eye contact.
“The way Reggie treated me as a kid, I would never treat a kid. I tried to forgive him through life,” Choyce said, describing him as a “crooked cop” who has “continued to bother” her over the years. She said she has defended herself against him and may post about the matter.
Choyce said Wright, in a podcast appearance ahead of the trial, called her a “blow up doll” and said he had “something for” her in court. She said when Wright saw her in court, he gestured toward her chest, a reference to the “blow up doll” comment. She said she remained in court and left during a break.
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