Alphonse Allais
French writer and humorist
Suge Knight, the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, was a central figure in the commercial success of gangsta rap in the 1990s. He is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015. Knight’s life has been marked by controversy, including his association with violence and intimidation in his business dealings.
Table of Contents
About the Suge Knight
Marion Hugh “Suge” Knight Jr.is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap’s commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label’s first two album releases: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Before founding Death Row Records, Knight played college football at UNLV as a defensive end. He briefly played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike.
In 1995, Tupac Shakur began serving a prison sentence of up to 4+1/2 years for a sexual abuse conviction. Knight struck a deal with Shakur that October, posting his $1.4 million bail and freeing him from prison pending an appeal of his conviction, while signing him to Death Row Records. In 1996, the label released Shakur’s greatest commercial success, All Eyez on Me. That September, after departing a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas, a group that included Knight and Shakur assaulted Orlando Anderson, a Southside Compton Crips gang member. Three hours later, someone shot into the car Knight was driving, injuring Knight and fatally wounding Shakur.
Dr. Dre left Death Row Records shortly before Shakur’s death, followed by Snoop Dogg two years later. The label rapidly declined. Meanwhile, allegations mounted that Knight, beyond employing gang members, often used intimidation and violence in his business dealings. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Knight spent a few years incarcerated for assault convictions and associated violations of probation and parole. In September 2018, Knight pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a fatal 2015 hit-and-run. Knight’s conviction, along with his previous felonies of stealing a camera and sending a harassing text message to Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray, triggered California’s three-strikes law. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and is eligible for parole in October 2034, when he will be 69 years old.
Frequently Asked Questions
Suge Knight is an American record executive and convicted felon who co-founded and was the former CEO of Death Row Records, a record label that played a key role in the commercial success of gangsta rap in the 1990s.
Before founding Death Row Records, Suge Knight played college football at UNLV and briefly played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike.
Suge Knight’s Death Row Records was responsible for the release of two of the most successful gangsta rap albums of the 1990s: Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ in 1992 and Snoop Dogg’s ‘Doggystyle’ in 1993, contributing to the commercial success of the genre.
In 1995, Suge Knight struck a deal with Tupac Shakur, posting his $1.4 million bail and signing him to Death Row Records. The label later released Shakur’s greatest commercial success, ‘All Eyez on Me’, but Shakur was fatally wounded in 1996 after departing a Mike Tyson boxing match with Knight.
In 2018, Suge Knight pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a fatal 2015 hit-and-run, triggering California’s three-strikes law. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison and is eligible for parole in October 2034, when he will be 69 years old.
Suge Knight has been accused of employing gang members and using intimidation and violence in his business dealings. He has also spent time incarcerated for various assault convictions and associated violations of probation and parole.
22 Quotes by Suge Knight
- 1.
Prison make you a better judge of character. You pick up on people much faster.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 2.
I never seen no shootin’. I only know what I heard and what I read. I had no involvement.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 3.
They been callin up here, asking when I am gonna get out. When I hit bricks, it all belongs to me.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 4.
As far as anybody in the rap game ever tryin’ to assassinate my character, that’s impossible. You talkin’ about a man who has always walked the walk and talked the talk.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 5.
I can only spend $140 a month in here. I’m saving, like, $10,000 a day.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 6.
You got good and bad people everywhere.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 7.
People don’t know how hard it is to have your own business.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 8.
If you wanna cross somebody, then do that. Don’t act like it wasn’t you.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 9.
I’m in prison. But my heart and mind is free. Gangsta haters on the streets are doing more time than me. They need 30 police escorts with them every time they walk down the street.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 10.
I like Biggie. Like ‘Pac, he was one of the best rappers in the business. Why would I try to do something to him?
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 11.
No person ever gave me nothing but God.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 12.
I don’t care about how many times somebody recognizes my face.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 13.
I am in the penitentiary. The only thing that I do is my time.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 14.
If you always been my enemy, it’s still that way.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 15.
My kids get everything they want and are raised well.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 16.
Of all the artists on Death Row, none of them went bankrupt.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 17.
I’m passionate about everything, like my family and friends. Anybody I am talkin’ to is gonna be bona fide real. There is no substitution for happiness. Period.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 18.
If I stay in here until I am 100 years olds, I will still be a man.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 19.
How could you be from the ghetto and be a rat?
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 20.
Basically, people are never happy enough because they want more money.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 21.
In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive
- 22.
The best revenge in the world is success.
Suge KnightAmerican record producer and music executive