Suge Knight, an American music mogul and entrepreneur, gained recognition for his role as one of the founders of Death Row Records. This record label achieved immense popularity in the 1990s through the talents of artists like Tupac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.
Suge Knight Profile Summary
Full name: Marion Hugh Knight Junior
Date of birth: 19 April 1965
Place of birth: Compton, California, USA
Age: 59 years (as of 2024)
Gender: Male
Zodiac sign: Aries
Nationality: American
Ethnicity: Black
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 120 kg (264 lbs)
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Mother: Maxie
Father: Marion Hugh Knight Senior
Siblings: Karen Anderson, Charlinda Tubbs
Marital status: Divorced
Children: 7
School: Lynn Wood High School
College: El Camino College; University of Nevada
Profession: Former professional American football player, former music executive
Early Life
Marion Hugh Knight, Jr., also known as Suge Knight, was born on April 19, 1965, in Compton, California. He earned the nickname “Suge” from his childhood nickname “Sugar Bear.” Suge’s parents are Maxine and Marion Knight Sr. He excelled in sports, particularly football and track, at Lynwood High School and graduated in 1983.
After playing football for two years at El Camino College, he transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1985 and continued playing for another two years. During the NFL Players Strike in 1987, Knight joined the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player and participated in two games with the team.
Career
After his NFL career, Suge Knight became a concert promoter and bodyguard for celebrities like Bobby Brown. In 1989, he formed a music publishing company. He made a big deal when Vanilla Ice gave him the royalties for the hit “Ice Ice Baby.” But it was controversial.
Knight and his bodyguards harassed Vanilla Ice to sign over the song rights. They even went to his hotel room and dangled him by his ankles off the balcony.
After that, Suge Knight established an agency for managing artists and recruited hip-hop musicians DJ Quik and The D.O.C. Through this, he also encountered several members of the N.W.A. Gangsta rap collective.
Suge is best known for his role as the ex-CEO and co-founder of Death Row Records, a label that played a significant role in popularizing gangster rap during the 1990s.
Suge Knight and Death Row were among the first to acquire talents like Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, and Snoop Dogg. By the conclusion of 1993, Dre’s individual album, “The Chronic,” reached Triple Platinum status in the United States, launching the career of his protégé, Snoop Dogg. In 1994, Snoop Dogg’s debut album, “Doggystyle,” achieved quadruple platinum status in the U.S.
Following Mr. Knight’s imprisonment for violating parole, Death Row Records experienced a decline, resulting in the departure of many of its top artists, most notably Dr. Dre. Despite its previous success, Death Row’s sales of over 150 million albums worldwide and estimated net revenues of $750 million were a thing of the past.
Jail Sentence
The ex-music executive received a five-year probation sentence in 1995 after being found guilty of assaulting two rappers. He was then put in prison the following year for breaking the terms of his probation.
In 2003, he was incarcerated for violating parole. From 2014 onwards, he has been facing prosecution for robbery accusations, and between 2015 and 2017, he was also charged with voluntary manslaughter.
In 2018, Suge Knight was sentenced to 28 years in prison and is currently serving his sentence at the RJ Donovan Correction Facility. He will not be able to apply for parole until 2037.
Wife & Kids
In 1999, Suge Knight married Sharitha Golden and musician Michel’le. Michel’le had previously been with Dr. Dre and had a son with him. She spoke about the abuse she faced with Suge and Dr. Dre. Suge also dated Bernice Burgos and Misa Hylton, P Diddy’s ex-girlfriend. He was later engaged to Toi Kelley.
Sugar has fathered multiple children with various women. One of his kids is Taj, who was born to Davina Barnes. His second son, Suge Knight Junior, was born to Marion and his ex-wife Sharitha Golden.
Suge Knight and Sharitha’s son is named Arion. Posh is another daughter of his, while Michel’le gave birth to his child, Balei. His youngest son, Legend, was born to Toi Kelley.
Net Worth
Suge Knight was a big name in American music. But his career declined in recent years, and he lost much of his power. He co-founded Death Row Records and was its CEO for a long time. After the death of the label’s lead singer, many other big artists left.
He was imprisoned for using force to recruit musicians for his record label. In 2018, he was given a 28-year prison sentence for a hit-and-run incident that occurred in 2015. His current net worth is $200 thousand.
