Eugene Henley Jr. known professionally as Big U, is a

music manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

, CEO of "Big U Enterprises", and alleged leader of the Rolling 60's Neighborhood Crips. He has managed the rappers

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has releas ...

and

Nipsey Hussle Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-20 ...

Early life

Eugene "Big U" Henley Jr., is the alleged leader of the rolling 60's Los Angeles "Crips" street gang. After serving 13 years in prison for a robbery gone bad in 1991 Henley resurfaced, and assumed the role of a

, and

community activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Henley first became apart of the Hip Hop music industry by managing

Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip-hop duo composed of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were among the first acts to sign to Death Row Records in 1992. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in 1998; they left th ...

rapper Kurupt. Henley is noted as a key figure in the rise of Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle's career. His ties in the music industry was further developed with the assistance of

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. D ...

co-founder

Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former National Football League, NFL player, and convicted felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central f ...

. Henley also became known for the practice called "Checkin In" which is, when a Hip Hop artist, musician or high profile individual from out of town visits a city and meets with the local street gang representative. They would then pay this person a "tax' or "fee" to be able to move around the city without the fear of being met with violence or conflict.

Legal Issues

In 2025, a federal grand jury returned a 43 count indictment against Henley. Federal authorities have compared his Big U Enterprises to a mafia like criminal organization. Charges brought against Henley include fraud, robbery, extortion, tax evasion, embezzlement and attempted murder. Authorities claim he used his influence with his street gang to intimidate business owners and the citizens of Los Angeles. Henley deceived celebrities such as

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...

and other donors into believing his Big U Enterprises was helping young athletes to achieve their dreams. He also led them to believe his organization was helping to curb gang violence. In reality Henley was amassing the funds for his own financial gain. According to authorities Henley also received federal grants for his charity, which were also diverted to fund his criminal enterprise. Before turning himself in to authorities to face the charges levied against him Henley took to social media, and accused Hip Hop media personality Wack 100 of conspiring with federal authorities to bring about his downfall. To date, Henley remains in federal custody.

References

{{reflist Living people American music managers People from Los Angeles