A few bay artists have actually been offered deals with big labels, however most labels want your publishing and offer slave contracts etc. Most of these rappers you see on tv are going to be paying back advances and debts for the rest of their lives. Independent is where its at in the long-term even if you're only selling 5-10k a year.
I'm sure the AP9 Deathrow thing was around the Bodyshots album time, he name drops Deathrow a few times on that album and i remember him having pics with Suge up somewhere.