Marion Hugh Knight, Jr., better known as Suge Knight, is an entrepreneur in the hip hop music industry and co-founder and CEO of Death Row Records. The record label rose to dominate the charts after Dr. Dre's breakthrough success The Chronic in 1992. After several years of chart successes for artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, Death Row Records stagnated after Knight's incarceration on parole violation charges in September 1996.

Biography

Early life

Marion Knight was born in Compton California. His name Suge (Template:PronEng), despite its spelling, derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname.^[1] He remained an excellent student and athlete, so much so that he won a football scholarship to University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he played collegiate football for several years. After school, he played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams for a short time, but couldn't quite make the grade. Instead, he found work as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for celebrities including Bobby Brown. Knight's legal problems began in 1987 when he faced auto theft, concealed weapon and attempted murder charges, ultimately receiving probation. Two years later, he formed his own music-publishing company, and allegedly made his first big fortune in the business by coercing Vanilla Ice into signing over royalties from his smash hit "Ice Ice Baby" owing to material that he supposedly sampled from one of Knight's company associates. (The possibly apocryphal story holds that Knight held Ice by his ankles off of a 20th-floor balcony, though in Ice's version, the threat was more implied.) Knight next formed an artist management company and signed prominent West Coast figures The D.O.C. and DJ Quik. Through the former, he met several members of the seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A.

Death Row Records

Dr. Dre of N.W.A. wished to depart from both his group and their label, Ruthless Records, run by Eazy-E, another member of N.W.A. This process involved Suge Knight who negotiated a contract release for Dr. Dre that, according to N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller, involved Knight and his henchmen threatening Heller and Eazy-E with pipes and baseball bats. Ultimately, Dre co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 with Knight, who famously vowed to make it "the Motown of the '90s."

For a time, Knight made good on his ambitions: He secured a distribution deal with Interscope, and Dre's 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, became one of the most influential rap albums of all time. It also made a star of Dre's protégé, Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose debut album, Doggystyle, was another smash hit in 1993. As Dre's signature G-funk production style took over hip-hop, Death Row became a reliable brand name for gangsta rap fans, and even its lesser releases sold consistently well. However, Knight was already courting controversy; during the recording sessions for The Chronic, he was arrested for assaulting two aspiring rappers who allegedly used a phone without his permission, and was placed on several years probation.

Meanwhile, Death Row had begun a public feud with 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell, and when Knight traveled to Miami for a hip-hop convention in 1993, he was apparently seen openly carrying a gun. The following year, he opened a private, by-appointment-only nightclub in Las Vegas called Club 662, so named because the numbers spelled out MOB, Knight's gang affiliation, on telephone keypads. In 1995, he ran afoul of activist C. Delores Tucker, whose criticism of Death Row's glamorization of the "gangsta" lifestyle helped scuttle a lucrative deal with Time Warner.

Additionally, Knight's feud with East Coast impresario Sean Combs (aka P Diddy) took a nasty turn when Knight insulted the Bad Boy label honcho on air at the Source Awards in August 1995. Openly critical of Puffy's tendency of ad-libbing on his artists' songs and dancing in their videos, Knight announced to the audience of recording artists and industry figures, "Anyone out there who wanna be a recording artist and wanna stay a star, but don't have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos, all on the records, dancing, come to Death Row."

The same year, Knight offered to post a hefty bail for Tupac Shakur if the troubled rapper agreed to sign with Death Row. Shakur agreed, setting the stage for his 1996 blockbuster double album All Eyez on Me and the smash hits "California Love" and "How Do U Want It." Shakur helped Death Row stay on top of a marketplace that was already shifting back toward the East Coast, which had devised its own distinct brand of hardcore rap.

However, the label suffered a major blow when Dr. Dre, frustrated with the company's increasingly thuggish reputation and Knight's violent inclinations, decided to leave and form his own label. A stream of Dre-dissing records followed, but things turned tragic later in 1996, when Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting as a passenger in a car driven by Knight. When Shakur's East Coast rival, The Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a similar fashion in March 1997, speculation immediately arose that Knight was involved and that B.I.G.'s death was a revenge killing. Subsequent investigations exposed a web of connections between Death Row Records, gang members who worked there, and LAPD officers who sometimes worked security for the label and its artists during off hours, but to date, both murders remain unsolved.

In 1993, Suge would have a son, Andrew, born on April 19, sharing the same birthday as him. Andrew is currently living in Greater Los Angeles area with his mother, "Tia". Another son, Taj, is said to be living in Atlanta with his mother, Davina Barnes. Most recently, a daughter, Bailei, with R&B singer Michel'le.^[2]

Criminal record

Knight was originally arrested before he was well-known, working as a bodyguard, which caused him to be on probation until his imprisonment in the mid-1990s. One separate incident during this period involved an alleged assault of rapper Vanilla Ice. Ice claimed that Knight had dangled him over a hotel balcony so he would sign over royalties to his hit "Ice Ice Baby". This story has changed several times and Ice currently denies the incident ever happened.

In 1991, while recording an album, Knight assaulted two men who refused to let him use a phone to speak to a business associate. ^{[citation needed]} He shot a bullet through the recording studio window, but no arrests were made.^{[citation needed]} That same year, Eazy-E filed a complaint against Knight and associates for assaulting him with pipes and bats, threatening him physically if he didn't release Dr. Dre, Michel'le and The D.O.C. from their recording contracts with Eazy's Ruthless Records label.

Knight continued to accumulate a reputation in music circles through repeated offenses of his probation; ones which were reported but did not have a follow-up arrest. During the 90's for instance, Knight was alleged to have locked rival music mogul Andre Herrell in a closet until he met his particular demands. During the East Coast-West Coast feud, a complaint was filed against Knight and Tupac Shakur by a friend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging that Knight had backed him into a corner, demanding the addresses of Combs as well as Combs' mother. When he failed to comply, Knight made him drink urine out of a cup.

In 1994, he also pleaded no contest to firearms trafficking charges, and was sentenced again but placed on probation.

Videotape at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel where Knight and Shakur had attended a boxing match prior to the shooting of Tupac Shakur showed an altercation with Crips gang member Orlando Anderson, who some believe was the eventual shooter. Shakur, Knight, and Bloods gang members under Death Row Records contract assaulted and beat Anderson. Later that night, around 10:55pm, Knight and Tupac drove back to the MGM hotel. Knight, who was driving the car, was seated next to Tupac when he was shot and received shrapnel wounds to the head. Knight's involvement in the fight violated the terms of his probation. Moreover, it was revealed that Knight's light sentence may have involved a conflict of interest on the part of prosecutor Lawrence Longo, who rented out a Malibu home to Knight and even had his teenage daughter sign a recording contract with Death Row. Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison, which effectively spelled the end of his Death Row empire. Knight's home was also burglarized, and a search warrant was issued at his office.

Knight showed up to the set of 50 Cent's video for "In Da Club" and menaced the rapper, as well as his mentor Dr. Dre. No altercation came of it and Knight left with no charges filed. However, in December 2002 he was jailed again for violating his parole by associating with gang members. After his release, he was arrested and jailed yet again in 2003, for assaulting parking lot attendant Mehdi Lazrak.

In October 2004, despite having not been formally invited, Suge attended the VIBE Awards, ostensibly to support Petey Pablo, whom he manages. That night Dr. Dre was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. With Suge in the audience, a man approached Dr. Dre shortly before Dre was called up for the award and feigned interest in an autograph before punching Dre. In the resulting scuffle, then-G-Unit rapper Young Buck stabbed the man. Immediately, stories pointed fingers at Suge, who went on The Late Late Show and insisted he supports Dr. Dre. The man, Jimmy James Johnson, faces life in prison due to the three strikes law in California, after Dre insisted he be charged. Johnson is now claiming that Suge paid him $5,000 to punch Dre in order to humiliate him before Dre received his Lifetime Achievement Award from Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg.

On the evening of February 5, 2005, Knight was arrested in Barstow, California, after police pulled him over for making an illegal U-turn. They found marijuana in his truck, and he was booked on suspicion of violating his parole. Sheriff's officials detained Knight pending his transfer to state prison, where it was to be decided whether Knight would be charged or released. He was released shortly thereafter.^[3]

Knight is associated with the Mob Piru Bloods gang, and has had ties to several LAPD police officers involved in the Rampart case, including Kevin Gaines, who dated his ex-wife and worked security for Death Row Records and David Mack. At least one former associate of his, rapper Dr. Dre, has an order of protection out on Knight. Since the death of Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., there have been various rumors of Knight's involvement in at least one, if not both of the murder conspiracies. There is circumstantial evidence for the latter, but still, both remain unsolved.

August 1, 2008, Suge Knight was formally accused of sending death threats to an inmate, Waymond "Suave" Anderson, to change his testimony regarding the 1997 death of The Notorious B.I.G. in court July 31, 2008.^[4]

Recent activities

On April 4, 2006, Suge Knight filed bankruptcy due to civil litigation against him in which Lydia Harris claimed to have been cheated out of a 50% stake in Death Row Records. Prior to filing, Knight had been ordered to pay $107 million to Harris.^[5] Under questioning by creditors, he denied having money tucked away in foreign countries or in an African company that deals in diamonds and gold. Bankruptcy documents filed showed Knight had no income this year from employment or operation of a business. His bank account contained just $11, and he owned clothing worth $1,000, furniture and appliances valued at $2,000, and jewelry worth $25,000, according to the records. He had testified that the last time he checked the label’s financial records was at least 10 years ago. Knight’s lawyer said that his client was still “at the helm” of Death Row and had been working on securing distribution deals for the label’s catalog. Knight had also testified that he had reached an agreement with Lydia Harris, saying "I settled for a million and signed off on it."^{[citation needed]} Harris told reporters she had received a $1 million payment but had not agreed to settle the matter. "I'm telling you, I didn't do a settlement for $1 million. That's ridiculous. Let's keep it real,"^{[citation needed]} she said.

Knight skipped a meeting with his creditors after injuring himself in a motorcycle accident. Another scheduled meeting with the creditors had been missed after Suge said he had experienced a death in his family. Finally on July 7, 2006, the federal judge, Ellen Carroll, ordered a bankruptcy trustee takeover of Suge Knight's Death Row Records, saying the record label had undergone a gross amount of mismanagement. She commented that "apparently there's no one at the helm of Death Row".^{[citation needed]}

He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows a company to continue business operations while restructuring. Death Row was being operated by Neilson during the bankruptcy proceedings, while Knight oversaw his bankruptcy estate as a debtor in possession.

Recently he was engaged again in another dispute with former friend and ex-associate Snoop Dogg after Snoop disrespected him in Rolling Stone magazine. Suge responded on Pagesix.com calling Snoop Dogg "a rat" and "a crybaby", accusing him of not serving time in prison due to his close relations with the police and running away from "real" fights.^[6]

In June 2007, he placed his seven-bedroom, 9 1/2-bath home in Malibu on the market for $6.2 million as part of his "financial makeover".

Knight has started a new record label called Blackball Records, with its first signee Young Life and has featured it in his new reality show called "Unfinished Business". The show is based on Knight dispelling long-standing rumors in sit down interviews, his days with Death Row and the artists he worked with, and finding new talent for his record label. As of June 2008, the show has not been picked up by any major network.

On May 10th 2008, Knight was involved in an altercation involving a monetary dispute outside of a nightclub in Hollywood. He was knocked out for 3 minutes, taken to the hospital, and did not cooperate with the LAPD. About a month later, he sold Death Row Records to New York-based company Global Music Group, which confirmed it had purchased the firm in a statement to the Associated Press news agency^[7] [1]

On the 27th of August, Knight was arrested on drugs charges, as well as assault, after leaving a strip club near the Las Vegas strip. When police arrived on the scene Knight was beating his girlfriend of three years while holding a knife, and had on him both Ectasy and hydrocodone. He was later bailed for $19,000 and is due to appear in court on the 26th September to face these charges.^[8] [2]

References

Further reading

• The Killing of Tupac Shakur. by Cathy Scott[3], Huntington Press, October 1, 2002, 235 pages, ISBN 0-929-71220-X

• Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records, Ronin Ro, Doubleday, 1998, 384 pages, ISBN 0-385-49134-4

• Labyrinth: Corruption and Vice in the L.A.P.D.: The truth behind the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls by Randall Sullivan, Atlantic Monthly Press, April 2, 2002, 384 pages, ISBN 0-87113-838-7

• Suge Knight: The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Death Row Records: The Story of Marion 'Suge' Knight, a Hard Hitting Study of One Man, One Company That Changed the Course of American Music Forever by Jake Brown, Amber Books, October 1, 2001, 218 pages, ISBN 0-9702224-7-5

External links

• Suge Knight bio The 411 on Death Row's Boss [authored by Balance: 411@hiphop.sh]
• "Dead Poets Society," George magazine, Cathy Scott
• Suge Knight
• NFL stats at Databasefootball.com