Marion Hugh Knight, Jr. (born April 19, 1965), better known as
Suge Knight, is the co-founder and former CEO of
Death Row RecordsDeath Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of West Coast hip hop's most well-known rappers, including 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound ....
. The
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
rose to dominate the charts after
Dr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor...
's breakthrough album
The ChronicThe Chronic is the debut solo studio album of hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre, released December 15, 1992 on his former own label, Death Row Records, and distributed by Priority Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles, California and...
in 1992. After several years of chart successes for artists including
Tupac ShakurTupac Amaru Shakur , also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He has sold 75 million albums to date and is one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a promising actor and a social...
,
Dr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor...
,
Snoop DoggCordazar Calvin Broadus , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as an MC in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of producer Dr. Dre's most notable protégés...
and
Tha Dogg PoundTha Dogg Pound, also known as D.P.G. , is a rap duo made up of Daz Dillinger and Kurupt. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. The group made their 1992 rap debut on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, on various songs...
, Death Row Records stagnated after Knight's incarceration on parole violation charges in September 1996.
Early life
Marion Knight was born in
Compton, CaliforniaCompton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, south-southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1889. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 93,493....
. His name, Suge , derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname. He remained an excellent student and athlete, so much so that he won a football scholarship to
University of Nevada, Las VegasThe University of Nevada, Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located in Southeast Las Vegas, approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. Ground breaking on the original site was in April 1956, and the university...
where he played collegiate football for several years. After school, he played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike. Later, he found work as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for celebrities including
Bobby BrownRobert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
.
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 IceRobert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Van Winkle released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, which released a...
into signing over royalties from his smash hit "
Ice Ice Baby"Ice Ice Baby" is an American hip hop song written by rapper Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle and DJ Earthquake. The song samples the bassline of "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, who did not initially receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit...
" 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 CoastWest Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music which originates in the westernmost region of the United States...
hip hop artists
The D.O.C.Tracy Lynn Curry, known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He was a member of the Fila Fresh Crew and a creative force behind the rap group N.W.A.-Early career:...
and
DJ QuikDavid Marvin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and Record Producer..-Biography: It was always thought that he had 8 sisters, but in a March 2007 interview he stated that he only had one, explaining that Profile Records at the time had suggested to add it to his background to...
.
Through the former, he met several members of the seminal
gangsta rapGangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word gangster. The genre was pioneered in the mid 1980s by rappers such as Schooly D and Ice T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by...
group N.W.A. In 1993, Suge would have a son, Andrew, born on April 19, sharing the same birthday as him. Andrew is currently living in the 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'leMichel'le Toussaint , better known as Michel'le, is an American R&B singer-songwriter known for her squeaky, child-like speaking voice which is a startling contrast to her strong vocals.-Career:...
.
Death Row Records
Dr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor...
of N.W.A wished to depart from both his group and their label, Ruthless Records, run by
Eazy-EEric Lynn Wright , better known by the stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper, producer, and record executive from Compton, California....
, another member of N.W.A. According to N.W.A's manager
Jerry HellerJerry Heller is best known for managing West Coast rap group N.W.A. and the founder, Eazy-E. He is co-founder and CEO of Ruthless Records . Over the years, Jerry Heller also managed War, Average White Band, Marvin Gaye, Michel'le, A.L.T...
, Knight and his henchmen threatened Heller and Eazy-E with pipes and baseball bats in order to secure Dre's release. Ultimately, Dre co-founded
Death Row RecordsDeath Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of West Coast hip hop's most well-known rappers, including 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound ....
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 ChronicThe Chronic is the debut solo studio album of hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre, released December 15, 1992 on his former own label, Death Row Records, and distributed by Priority Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles, California and...
, 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,
DoggystyleDoggystyle is the debut solo album from American West Coast hip hop rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, released November 23, 1993 on Death Row Records. The album was recorded soon following the release of Dr. Dre's landmark debut album The Chronic , to which Snoop Dogg contributed significantly...
, was another smash hit in 1993. As Dre's signature
G-funkG-funk, or Gangsta-Funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from West Coast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. It was a dominant sound that put west coast hip hop on the map...
production style became an influential part of hip-hop, Death Row became a reliable brand name for
gangsta rapGangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word gangster. The genre was pioneered in the mid 1980s by rappers such as Schooly D and Ice T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by...
fans, and even its lesser releases sold consistently well.
Meanwhile, Death Row had begun a public feud with
2 Live Crew2 Live Crew is a hip hop group from Miami, Florida. They caused considerable controversy with the sexual themes in their work, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be.-Early career:...
's
Luther CampbellLuther R. Campbell , also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a record label owner, rap performer , and actor...
, 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 TuckerC. DeLores Tucker was a U.S. politician and civil rights activist best known for her participation in the Civil Rights Movement and stance against gangsta rap music.-Early life:...
, whose criticism of Death Row's glamorization of the "gangsta" lifestyle may have helped scuttle a lucrative deal with
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
.
Addition of Tupac
Additionally, Knight's feud with East Coast impresario
Sean CombsSean John Combs , known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, men's fashion designer, entrepreneur and dancer. He won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.He was originally...
(aka P Diddy) took a nasty turn when Knight insulted the
Bad BoyBad Boy Records is an East Coast record label, dealing largely in Hip-Hop/R&B music, founded by producer/rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs in 1993...
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 Amaru 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 MeAll Eyez on Me is the Grammy-nominated fourth studio album by West Coast rapper 2Pac. It was released on February 13, 1996, and sold 566,000 copies in the first week of release...
and the smash hits "
California Love"California Love" is a hip hop song by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single upon his release from prison in 1995. A popular remix version of the song appeared on his 1996 double album All Eyez on Me...
" and "
How Do U Want It"How Do U Want It" is a song of 2Pac featuring K-Ci and JoJo and was the third single from his album All Eyez on Me. It was a Double A-side single to "California Love", and the tracks combined were credited as a #1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1996...
." 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.
Loss of Dr. Dre and Tupac
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 in September 1996, when Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
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; although former Death Row artists like Snoop Dogg would later state that Suge was involved in Tupac's murder as well, despite being wounded himself in the incident. 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. Author Randall Sullivan claimed that the majority of clues found by investigators assigned to B.I.G.’s killing “pointed... directly at Suge Knight”. Mario Ha’mmonds, a convicted felon who shared a cellblock with Knight at San Luis Obispo Men’s Colony in the late 1990s, claimed that Knight took credit for the murder, and quoted him as saying, “'My people handled the business. They took care of him. . . “ No one has ever been charged in connection with the crime, however, and Suge has denied any involvement.
Prison
In 1996 Knight was sent to prison for a parole violation. In 1997 he was sentenced to 9 years for the violation. He was released in 2001. In 2003, however, he was sent to jail again for violating parole when he struck a parking lot attendant.. Death Row Record's income rapidly declined due to Knight's incarceration. It managed to save itself from complete bankruptcy by releasing archived Snoop Dogg compilation albums and posthumous Tupac albums. Despite signing new artists, Suge never released any of their albums.
End of Death Row
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. 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. According to financial records, 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. He also testified that the last time he had checked the label’s financial records was at least 10 years prior. 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." 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," 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".
He filed for
Chapter 11Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
bankruptcyBankruptcy in the United States is permitted by the United States Constitution which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the 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.
Knight was engaged again in another dispute with former friend and ex-associate Snoop Dogg after Snoop disrespected him in
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
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.
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". The mansion was finally sold in December 2008 in bankruptcy court for $4.56 million.
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 April 2009, the show has not been picked up by any major network.
Later troubles
On May 10, 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
On August 27, 2008, Knight was arrested on drug and aggravated assault charges after leaving a Las Vegas strip club. When police arrived on the scene, Knight was beating his girlfriend of three years and brandishing a knife. Reports also allege that he was under the influence of both
ecstasyEcstasy may refer to:* MDMA , an entactogenic drug, also known as "Ecstasy", and as "E", "X", and "XTC".* Ecstasy , an illicit tablet preparation containing psychoactive drugs, particularly MDMA....
and
hydrocodoneHydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from two of the naturally occurring opiates codeine and thebaine. Hydrocodone is an orally active narcotic analgesic and antitussive. It is commonly available in tablet, capsule, and syrup form, and is often compounded with other...
. He was later released on $19,000 bail. Knight's girlfriend, Melissa Isaac, who was scheduled to testify against him in the assault case, has since gone missing, leading to speculation that Knight is involved in her disappearance. As of October 31, police and prosecutors had still failed to contact Knight's girlfriend, Melissa Isaac, and no formal charges have been brought against Knight.
On December 5, 2008 Suge Knight was cleared of all charges. Knight’s attorney, David Chesnoff, said the prosecution had "discovery problems and witness problems." Prosecutor Susan Benedict did not immediately return a call for comment. When Knight was asked about the positive verdict he replied "God is good, Happy Holidays".
As part of an October 30, 2008 bankruptcy claim, Suge also filed a lawsuit against
Kanye WestKanye West is an American singer/rapper. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His first three albums have received numerous awards and critical acclaim...
and his associates. The lawsuit concerns an August 2005 shooting at Kanye's pre-Video Music Awards party, where Knight suffered a gunshot wound to the upper leg. The lawsuit cites damages of mental and physical pain caused by the shooting, costs of surgery, loss of income and the theft of a 15 carat $135,000 diamond earring.
On January 25, 2009, an auction was held for everything found in the Death Row Records office after the company filed for bankruptcy, including some of Suge's personal items. Of note was the Death Row Records electric chair which sold for $2500.
On February 16, 2009, Suge was beaten badly at a private party at the
W Scottsdale Hotelthumb|right|Westin Times Square|250pxStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership, management, and franchise organization based in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas,...
, held in celebration of the NBA All-Star Game. He was taken by ambulance to an Arizona hospital for treatment of extensive facial injuries including broken facial bones. Robert Carnes Jr., who identified himself to police as the business manager of hip-hop star
AkonAliaune Badara Akon Thiam, better known by his middle and stage name Akon , is a Senegalese-American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up”, the first single from his debut album Trouble...
(but was later denied by Akon's publicist), was arrested along with Thomas Anderson Jr., and charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Officers were called by hotel security and arrived to witness Carnes punch Knight in the face twice before subduing him.
In late March, 2009, Suge Knight was implicated in the robbery of Akon producer, Noel "Detail" Fisher.
According to Christopher Walker, an employee of Detail, on the morning of March 25, 2009, five armed men broke into Detail's house, stating that they were collecting a debt on behalf of Knight. $170,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, along with a locked safe, stereo equipment and the key to a Mercedes vehicle. Walker claims the incident is related to the altercation at the W Scottsdale Hotel in February.
Further reading
- The Killing of Tupac Shakur. by Cathy Scott
Cathy Scott is an American true crime writer and investigative journalist, born and raised in San Diego, United States growing up in nearby La Mesa, California...
http://www.cathyscott.com/, 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
- Biggie & Tupac. Dir. Nick Broomfield. Lafayette Films, 2002.
- Philips, Chuck. "Who Killed Tupac Shakur? How Vegas Police Probe Foundered." Los Angeles Times. 7 Sept. 2002, p. 1.
- Raftery, Brian M. "A B.I.G. Mystery." Entertainment Weekly. 27 Sept. 2002, p. 19.
- "Suge Knight Sentenced to 10 Months for Parole Violation." MTV.com. 31 July 2003.
- Sullivan, Randall. LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. 2002.
- Welcome To Death Row. Dir. S. Leigh Savidge & Jeff Scheftel, 2001.
External links