The 10 Most Gangsta Hip-Hop Label Executives

We rank the check writers who we suspect ran the streets before they ran the rap game.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Last week, Kareem "Biggs" Burke was one of 43 people arrested in a major bust that broke up a drug ring that allegedly controlled much of the pot market in New York. Prior to his arrest, Biggs was best known for teaming up with Dame Dash and Jay-Z and starting Roc-A-Fella Records. Truth is, we never knew much about Biggs (he's been so mum over the years that we often wondered if he could even speak at all). But his arrest got us thinking about other rap label execs (not as managers—sorry, Jimmy Henchmen) who did dirt before going legit, so we created The 10 Most Gangsta Hip-Hop Label Executives.

Written by Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)

10. Irv Gotti

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9. Russell Simmons

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8. Bryan Leach

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7. Eazy-E

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6. Darrin Dee Dean

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5. J Prince

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4. Sean "Diddy" Combs

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Executive of: Bad Boy Records 
Street Cred: Puffy is not only the most famous person on this list, but he may also be the best marketer of the group. Why do we say that? Because when people think of Diddy, they think of Ciroc, J. Lo, and dancing.

But we can't help but notice that when Pac got shot at Quad Studios, Puff was there. When Shyne shot up the club, Puff was there. And when Biggie was killed, Puff was there. When Steve Stoute got hit with a bottle, Puff was definitely there. When Jake "The Violator" Robles was killed in Atlanta, Robles' friend Suge Knight blamed Puff.

We're not saying he's responsible for any of these things in any way. We're just saying Puff has come out of a lot of gangsta situations completely unscathed. And like they say, Bad Boys dance around move in silence.

3. Bryan "Birdman" Williams & Ronald "Slim" Williams

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2. Melvin Vernell Jr. & Marcus Roach

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1. Suge Knight

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