Marion ‘Suge’ Knight , the co-founder of Death Row Records, is currently serving a prison sentence under charges of murder, attempted murder, and hit and run. The former record executive agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter following which he was sent to 28 years in prison. Though he kept denying the allegations , his former employee recalled horrifying details.
Knight’s alleged crimes were at their height when Phil Brewster, an assistant recording engineer at Death Row in the mid-’90s, recounted that, though the fallen mogul came across as “very friendly, charismatic,'” he could also turn “into this totally scary dude.” The employee also claimed that Knight wasn’t the only man terrorizing people around Death Row.
Brewster recounted that a Bloods gang member caused “way too much” harm to people, including his friend who “was just walking down the [Death Row offices] hallway” when the gang member warned him, “Don’t ever park in my parking spot!” However, nobody there had designated parking spots. But nobody there had a parking spot. When it got to the point where I was cleaning blood off the walls in Suge’s office, I knew this was not a normal situation,” per Page Six .
During Knight’s era, there was bloodshed everywhere despite being one of the most famous and leading record executives in the hip-hop world. He was the man behind launching the industry’s greatest artists, such as Tupac Shakur , Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dog . However, he also became known for his aggression during the early 90s with a few stints in jail.
Suge Knight was sentenced to 28 years in prison for running over and killing a man in a dispute about “Straight Outta Compton” pic.twitter.com/MPOXoOUl2v
— DailyRapFacts (@DailyRapFacts) September 21, 2018
For instance, in 1992, he allegedly assaulted and stripped naked two aspiring rappers and brothers Lynwood and George Stanley for using Death Row’s company phone. Back then, he was fined and placed on probation. However, the next year, in 1993, Knight’s name emerged in another horrifying case where he allegedly kidnapped music manager Happy Walters over a professional dispute. A few days later, Walters was spotted wandering nude, bald, and with apparent cigarette burns
However, the stories of his terror didn’t stop there. During one instance, Knight and his entourage beat a security guard to the extent that he needed to undergo surgery to save his organs. In addition, he forced a record promoter to drink his urine and beat an accountant who later went into hiding. Following these, in the years 2003, 2012, and 2015, he was filed for more violations, inflicted injuries, and feuds.
While he narrowly escaped all the aforementioned crimes, it all began after Shakur and Notorious B.I.G’s death. His name was linked in both those murders, though the mogul vehemently denied any involvement in either of them. Despite rumors and accusations, he pleaded not guilty to the murders. But his dark past stuck with him and he had a fall from grace.
#SugeKnight is weighing in from prison on the federal raids on #Diddy ‘s homes … and is offering some ominous advice to the Bad Boy mogul. pic.twitter.com/8socawVY7p
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 28, 2024
Currently serving a life sentence, Knight also feuded with Bad Boy Records Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. In the wake of his arrest in sex trafficking and male prostitution charges, Knight claims Diddy assaulted Usher and Justin Bieber, adding that he l earned the misconduct from “people before him” and he did it to the “younger people after him,” per Fox 11.