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Knight's 1997 mugshot for probation violation

Marion Hugh Knight, Jr., better known as Suge Knight (born April 19, 1965 in Compton, California), is a controversial 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 fell into a stagnant limbo after Knight's incarceration on parole violation charges in September 1997. Image File history File linksMetadata Sugeknightmug. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Sugeknightmug. ... is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location of Compton in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles Government  - Mayor Eric Perrodin Area  - Total 10. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... For the computer game by Peter Molyneux, see The Entrepreneur. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the job of having the ultimate executive responsibility or authority within an organization or corporation. ... Death Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of raps biggest names, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger). ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... For the New York radio and television presenter, see Doctor Dre. ... Back cover The Chronic is the highly influential debut album from American rap producer Dr. Dre, released in 1992. ... Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply as Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. ... For the New York radio and television presenter, see Doctor Dre. ... Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. ... Tha Dogg Pound, also known as D.P.G. (Dogg Pound Gangstaz), is a rap group made up of Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. ... Death Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of raps biggest names, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger). ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ...

Early life

Marion Knight was born April 19, 1965 in Compton, a Suburb of Los Angeles. As a youth, he was associated with the Mob Piru Bloods street gang because he lived in a gang-dominated neighborhood. Though he was never a true member, Knight was frequently seen wearing their colors. His name Suge (pronounced /ʃʊɡ/) 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. is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... “Suburbia” redirects here. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... The Pirus (pronounced pie-rooz) is one of the Los Angeles, California, area street gangs based out of Compton. ... The Bloods are one of the Los Angeles, California street gangs. ... UNLV redirects here. ... The St. ... This article is about the R&B singer. ... Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas), best known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known for the 1990 smash hit Ice Ice Baby. ... Ice Ice Baby is rapper Vanilla Ices most famous and popular song, released from his second album To The Extreme. ... See: West Coast of the United States West Coast, New Zealand West Coast, Tasmania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), known as The D.O.C., is an African American rapper born and raised in Dallas, Texas where he was a member of the Fila Fresh Crew. ... David Martin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known as by his stage name DJ Quik, or as of 2007 simply Quik, is a West Coast rapper and record producer from Compton, California. ... For the Ice T album, see Gangsta Rap (album). ... This article is about the hip-hop group. ...

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 the New York radio and television presenter, see Doctor Dre. ... Ruthless Records was the name of two different record labels, a Chicago punk label, and a Los Angeles hip hop label. ... Eazy-E (Eric Wright) (September 7, 1963 - March 26, 1995) was an African-American rapper, record producer, and record executive who initially rose to fame as a member of the group N.W.A.. Born in Compton, California, Eazy-E dropped out of Compton High School while in tenth grade... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Death Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of raps biggest names, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger). ... Motown Records, Inc. ...

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. Back cover The Chronic is the highly influential debut album from American rap producer Dr. Dre, released in 1992. ... Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus (born October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California) is a rap musician and actor. ... This article is about the Snoop Doggy Dogg album. ... G-funk, an abbreviation of Gangsta-funk, is a type of hip hop music that emerged from West Coast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. ... For the Ice T album, see Gangsta Rap (album). ...

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. 2 Live Crew is a rap group. ... Luther R. Campbell (born December 22, 1960), also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a record label owner and rap performer (taking the non-rapping role of hype man). He is perhaps best known as a one-time member of 2 Live Crew. ... C. DeLores Tucker (née Cynthia DeLores Nottage) (October 4, 1927-October 12, 2005)[1] 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. ... Time Warner Inc. ...

Additionally, Knight's feud with East Coast impresario Sean Combs 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." Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969[1]) is an American record producer, CEO, clothing designer, actor, and rapper. ... Bad Boy Records (originally Bad Boy Entertainment) is an East Coast Hip-Hop/R&B record label founded by producer/rapper Sean Diddy Combs in 1993 that is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... The Source Magazine The Source is a U.S., monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture. ...

However, the year was partially redeemed when 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. Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply as Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. ... All Eyez on Me is a double album by rapper Tupac Shakur. ... California Love is a rap song by Tupac Shakur featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman. ... 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 and just as California Love it was a big success. ... Hardcore hip hop is a form of hip hop music that has confrontational, often violent lyrics, and generally sparse, gritty urban beats. ...

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. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Suge's son, Taj, is said to be living in Atlanta with his mother, Davina Barnes. He also has a daughter, Bailei, with R&B singer Michel'le. ^[2] Michelle (born Michelle Toussaint in 1965 in Los Angeles, California) is an R&B vocalist. ...

Criminal Record

Knight was originally arrested before he was well-known and working as a bodyguard, which caused him to be on probation until his imprisonment in the mid-90's. One separate <sic> 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 as to become mythology, while Ice himself denies it currently. Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967 in Dallas, Texas), best known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known for the 1990 smash hit Ice Ice Baby. ...

In 1991, while recording album, Knight assaulted two men who refused to let him use a phone to speak to a business associate. He shot a bullet through the recording studio window, but no arrests were made. 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 the late 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 and Shakur 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. Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...

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. 50 cent redirects here. ... In da Club is a song performed by rapper 50 Cent for his commercial debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). ...

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, 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. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An award is something given to a person or group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field. ... G-Unit is a rap group which consists of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, (The) Game, R & B singer Olivia and, most recently, Spider Loc. ... David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), better known as Young Buck, is an American rapper who is a member of the popular rap group G-Unit. ... Three strikes laws are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. ... This article is about the producer and songwriter. ...

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. [http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/15597412. is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. ...

Knight is in addition a known member of the Mob Piru Bloods gang, and has had ties to police officers involved in the Rampart case, including Kevin Gaines, who dated his ex-wife and worked security for Death Row Records. 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 of the murder conspiracies. There is circumstantial evidence for the latter, but still, both remain unsolved. Rampart may mean: A type of defensive wall consisting of a low earthen embankment topped by a parapet or palisade. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Death Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of raps biggest names, including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger). ...

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. [2] 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." 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. is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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, the federal judge Ellen Carroll on July 7, 2006 ordered a bankruptcy trustee takeover of Suge Knight's Death Row Records, saying the record label has undergone gross mismanagement. She commented that "apparently there's no one at the helm of Death Row".

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

Recently he was engaged again in a feud with 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.^[3] This article is about the magazine. ...

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.

On May 10th 2008, Knight was involved in an altercation involving money outside of a nightclub in Hollywood. He was knocked unconscious for 3 minutes, taken to the hospital, and did not cooperate with the FBI.^[4]

References

Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily. ... Front of UPI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. “UPI” redirects here. ...

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

Cathy Scott, a graduate of Helix High School and the University of Redlands, is best known as the author of the books The Killing of Tupac Shakur (ISBN 0-929-71220-X) and The Murder of Biggie Smalls (ISBN 0-312-26620-0). ...

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