Suge Knight

Suge Knight married Sharitha Lee Golden in Las Vegas in 1989. IMDb lists him as married to R&B singer Michel'le from 1999 to 2005, with one child, while another account disputes the legal validity of that marriage and describes Knight as still married to Sharitha during that period.

Profiles have listed his children as Bailei, Legend, Suge Jacob, Posh, Taj, and Andrew. Other profiles give different totals, and the parentage of Andrew has been disputed in accounts about Knight's family.

Born Marion Hugh Knight Jr., Knight grew up in Compton, California, and attended Lynwood High School, where he was a football and track star. His childhood nickname, "Sugar Bear," was shortened to "Suge." He played football at El Camino College before transferring to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he played defensive end for two years.

Knight went undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft but joined the Los Angeles Rams during training camp. He later played two games for the Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players strike.

After football, Knight worked as a concert promoter and bodyguard, including for singer Bobby Brown. He formed a music publishing company in 1989 and later established an artist management company that represented West Coast artists including DJ Quik and The D.O.C. His business dealings involving Vanilla Ice's song "Ice Ice Baby" became an early high-profile episode in his music career.

Through The D.O.C., Knight met members of N.W.A. He became involved in efforts to free Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., and Michel'le from their contracts with Ruthless Records, leading to the creation of Death Row Records.

Knight co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre and The D.O.C. in 1991 and secured a distribution agreement with Interscope. The label's first major releases included Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Both albums achieved major commercial success and helped make West Coast hip-hop a dominant force in 1990s popular music.

Knight signed Tupac Shakur to Death Row in 1995. Shakur subsequently released All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory through the label. Knight also signed MC Hammer, although Death Row did not release the album Hammer recorded for the company. Knight opened the Las Vegas nightclub Club 662 and later founded Black Kapital Records after Death Row entered bankruptcy proceedings.

Death Row became associated with disputes involving Knight, rival music executives, and critics of gangsta rap. C. Delores Tucker publicly criticized the label's lyrical content, while Knight's increasingly violent reputation damaged relationships with artists and business partners. Dr. Dre left the company in 1996, and Snoop Dogg departed after Shakur's death.

Knight filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2006. A bankruptcy court later ordered a trustee takeover of Death Row because of mismanagement, and the label was sold in 2008. The company's office contents, including personal items and memorabilia, were auctioned the following year.

Knight was driving the car in which Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. Knight was injured, while Shakur died six days later. Knight's presence at the shooting, his conflicts within Death Row, and the rivalry between Death Row and Bad Boy Records contributed to later theories about the deaths of Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G.

Knight was never charged with either murder. Different investigators, former associates, and commentators advanced competing theories, while other accounts rejected claims that Knight was involved. Theories linking him to the killings have therefore remained separate from his criminal conviction.

Knight received probation in 1995 after pleading no contest to assaulting two rappers at a Hollywood recording studio. He was later imprisoned for violating probation after a 1996 altercation involving Orlando Anderson, and he was released early in 2001. In 2003, he received another prison sentence for violating parole after striking a parking lot attendant and for renewed gang-affiliation issues.

In January 2015, Knight's vehicle struck Terry Carter and Cle Sloan in Compton. Carter died and Sloan suffered serious injuries. Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 and received a 28-year sentence, consisting of 22 years for the fatal collision and six additional years under California's three-strikes law. He is eligible for parole in October 2034 and is incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

Knight has appeared as an actor, producer, music-department contributor, and interview subject. His listed screen credits include DysFunktional Family, Talk Is Jericho, Suge Knight: On The Real Death Row Story, and the music video for Nick Cannon's "The Invitation." He was also interviewed for the documentary Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops.

Knight has been portrayed by other actors in biographical productions, including Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story, Straight Outta Compton, Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le, All Eyez on Me, and Unsolved.