The Endless Fall of Suge Knight.docx

8/20/2019 The Endless Fall of Suge Knight.docx

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The Endless Fall of Suge Knight

He sold America on a West Coast gangsterfantasy — and embodied it. Then the billscame due

BY MATT DIEHL July 6, !"#

• Sha$e

• T%eet

• Sha$e

• &o''ent

• E'ail

This could finally be the end of the road for Suge Knight, who helped bring WestCoast gangsta rap to the mainstream. Photo illustration by Sean McCabe

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On March !th, inside the high"security wing of #os $ngeles% Clara Shortridge &olt'Criminal (ustice Center, the man once called )the most feared man in hip"hop) isloo*ing more li*e the +!"year"old with chronic health issues that he is. Suge Knightsits in shac*les, wearing an orange prison umpsuit and chun*y glasses, his beardflec*ed with gray, listening impassi-ely. t%s the end of the day%s proceedings, and(udge /onald S. Coen is announcing the bail for Knight, who is facing charges ofmurder, attempted murder and hit"and"run0 )n this court%s opinion, 1+ million is

reasonable, and it is so set.) $ gasp erupts from Knight%s row of supporters 2 some ofwhom sport red clothing or accessories, a color associated with the 3loods and Pirustreet gangs. The most shoc*ed are Knight%s family, who ha-e attended nearly all of hiscourt dates0 his parents, along with his fiancee, Toilin Kelly, and sister Karen$nderson. )4e%s ne-er had a bail li*e that before5) $nderson e6claims.

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7! Most 8mbarrassing /oc*"Star $rrests 9$s attendees e6it and Knight is escorted out by the bailiffs, Knight%s attorney Matthew&letcher pleads with Coen to reconsider. &letcher points out that Knight has been heldin solitary confinement for nearly three months, with ne6t to no contact with family orfriends. :)They wouldn%t allow this at ;uant


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goes on to complain about Knight%s treatment in ail for his numerous medicalailments, which include diabetes, blood clots and impaired -ision.

The udge is unswayed, especially by &letcher%s pleas about Knight%s poor health. )4e

was offered food and refused it,) says Coen. $t that moment, as if on cue, Knight re"enters the courtroom, and suddenly collapses, his 7!!"pound"plus frame tumblingforward onto the padded chair he was ust sitting in minutes earlier. Outside, Knight%ssupporters ha-e started a protest. )This is a public lynching5) shouts a woman in a reddress and blond $fro. )3lac* li-es matter5) The painful irony is that Knight is being

prosecuted for murdering a blac* man 2 a man he once called his friend 2 andseriously inuring another.

This could finally be the end of the road for the record"label head who, a generationago, helped bring the West Coast gangsta rap of >r. >re, Snoop >ogg and TupacSha*ur to the mainstream, pushing aside the pop rap of artists such as MC 4ammerand Tone"#oc and putting low"riders and gang signs into hea-y rotation on MT?. nthe process, Knight established himself as a legendary music"bi' tough guy. 4ise6ploits 2 some mythic, some real 2 during the heyday of >eath /ow /ecords ha-e

become part of hip"hop lore0 n the early @ineties, he allegedly shoo* down ?anilla ceinto handing o-er publishing profits, wal*ing the rapper out to a hotel"room balcony toshow him how far his fall would be. :) needed to wear a diaper that day,) ce saidlater.= n his memoir, former @.W.$ manager (erry 4eller alleged that Knight and hiscohorts, bearing baseball bats, intimidated 8a'y"8 into releasing >re from his /uthless/ecords contract. :The claims ha-e ne-er been substantiated.= Knight was sitting ne6tto Tupac when he was gunned down in ABB in #as ?egasD his participation in a fighton the night of the shooting would land him in prison for fi-e years on a probation-iolation.

$s Knight%s fortunes ha-e crumbled, he%s gotten closer to the streets, according to prosecutors. n a motion arguing for the high bail :which would later be reduced to 1A!million=, the #.$. >istrict $ttorney%s office alleged a recent scheme by Knight to )ta6)out"of"town rappers for as much as 17!,!!! ust to wor* in #os $ngeles and #as?egas. #ast year, Knight called out /ic* /oss in a -ideo inter-iew0 )Eou *now you

owe that bread, titty man,) Knight said. )%m gonna beat the dog shit out of you.) 4istargets aren%t limited to big fish 2 in !AF he was caught on sur-eillance punching awor*er at an #.$. medical"mariuana dispensary after being refused ser-ice for lac*ingdocumentation.

Knight hasn%t been charged for any of the abo-e episodesD his current lawyer ThomasMesereau says, )4e ne-er threatened ?anilla ce,) and that all the claims of e6tortionare based on )a lot of gossip and innuendo.) 3ut former associates struggle tounderstand why such an undeniably talented businessman can%t escape this *ind of

small"time drama and thuggery. ) watched Suge decline the last A! years,) says Cash(ones, a.*.a. Wac* A!!, a former >eath /ow )foot soldier) who now manages /ay (


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and the ;ame. Knight already has two prior -iolent felonies on his record0 f any of hiscurrent charges stic*, under California%s Three Stri*es law, he could be going to ail for the rest of his life.

)Suge lost focus of the business, and who he is,) says (ones. )4e could%-e been a lot of things, but he chose not to.)


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Michael O%@eilGCorbis OutlineKnight%s most recent troubles apparently began li*e many Suge Knight stories0 withhim thin*ing that somebody owed him money. The upcoming @.W.$ biopic, StraightOutta Compton — co"produced by >re and ce Cube, and due out in $ugust 2 wasgetting attention after a teaser lea*ed in >ecember. )People wor*ing on the set were

calling and telling Suge, %4ey, man, this mo-ie is really HbecomingI a >eath /owmo-ie,% with a Suge loo*"ali*e in the mo-ie beating up people in the studio and allthat,) says /eggie Wright, a childhood friend of Knight%s who wor*ed at >eath /owfrom ABBF to !!. )Suge felt li*e they were using his li*eness in this mo-ie withoutconsulting him.)

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Watch ntense, ?iolent %Straight Outta Compton% Trailer 9On the afternoon of (anuary Bth, Knight dro-e up to the production%s base camp in his

red &ord /aptor pic*up, bree'ing past the film%s security. >re%s bodyguards would notmo-e him while Knight was on the premises, lea-ing producers in a panic. Cle )3one)Sloan J a )nonacti-e) gang member who was wor*ing as a technical ad-iser to themo-ie J stepped in, confronting Knight. Sloan said later that he had heard there was a)problem) between )HKnightI and >re or somebody.) The confrontation turned into ashouting match. Sloan said he told Knight, )Why don%t you lea-e so we can mo-eforward Eou got the white fol*s scared5) 8-entually, Knight left the set.

Shortly after clearing out, Knight recei-ed a call from a respected South Central

entrepreneur named Terry Carter who was at the shoot that day and was perhapshoping to mediate the dispute. Carter, ++, was a self"made man who, after losing hismother and brother in the space of a year when he was AL, had built businesses inmusic, cars and real estate 2 most notably co"founding 4ea-yweight /ecords withce Cube in ABBL. )ce Cube and >re would come by the house li*e it was nothing,)says Carter%s daughter @e*aya about her childhood. Carter was a family man, withthree childrenD he had also ta*en in his sister"in"law%s fi-e *ids when she couldn%t carefor them. People who *new Carter call him a )peacema*er.)

There are different accounts of Knight%s relationship with Carter. 4is daughters saythat he and Knight had done little more than )cross paths,) but Knight%s friend and bail

bonds agent (ane n says that Carter and Knight were )friends) and had e-en

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)e6plored going into business together.) Carter was now reNuesting Knight%s presenceat a Compton burger oint, Tam%s, a few miles from the mo-ie%s base camp.

Minutes later, Knight pulled up outside the Tam%s par*ing lot, where Carter and at least

one other man had already gathered. $ccording to Sloan%s inter-iew with police,Knight started bad"mouthing Sloan 2 ust as, unbe*nownst to Knight, he pulled up.)4e was tal*ing shit,) Sloan recounted, )and ust popped out li*e a ac*"in"the"bo6.)Sloan came at Knight saying, )#et%s do it5) and began throwing punches at Knightthrough the /aptor%s window.


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The car Knight was dri-ing on (anuary Bth, when he ran o-er Cle )3one) Sloan andlocal businessman Terry Carter, who died from his inuries. #os $ngeles CountySheriff%s OfficeG#os $ngeles County Superior CourtG$PKnight%s -ehicle lurched into re-erse, *noc*ing down Sloan. Then he put it into dri-e,running o-er Sloan and crushing his an*les. Knight%s pic*up *ept surging forward,

plowing into a fleeing Carter, *illing him. :The entire gruesome, abrupt series ofe-ents was captured on a grainy, soundless sur-eillance -ideo, which was obtained by

TM.com.=


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Suge Knight &acing #ife in Prison O-er &atal Car Crash 9)8-ery day, try to forget it,) Sloan said later. ) screwed up, and Terry%s dead.) Knightturned himself in to police about A hours later, around three in the morning. Knight%s

initial counsel in the case, (ames 3latt, told the Los Angeles Timesthat Knight was)heartbro*en) o-er Carter%s death. $ subseNuent lawyer, &letcher, has suggested thatCarter helped lure Knight into a deathtrap. Carter%s friends and family are still deep inmourning. )t was a tragedy,) says #ydia 4arris, an early >eath /ow partner. @early,!!! people attended Carter%s funeral.

Knight%s strategy will almost certainly be self"defense. 3ut e-en if he wins, he is facinganother case, which has recei-ed less media attention, but may pro-e harder to beat.#ast September, Knight and comedian Katt Williams were lea-ing a 3e-erly 4illsstudio when they encountered celebrity photographer #eslie /edden. 3elie-ing

/edden had photographed Knight%s son without permission, Knight is alleged to ha-etold her he had a )bitch) who was going to beat her )motherfuc*ing ass,) and to ha-eshown /edden his waistband. /edden fled, but was stopped by Williams and anun*nown woman, who allegedly *noc*ed the photographer to the ground and too* hercamera. n addition to criminal charges against Knight and Williams :who ha-e both

pleaded not guilty=, /edden has also filed a ci-il suit against Knight, alleging se-ereinuries to her bac*, head and nec*.

)t don%t matter if it%s 1A!! or 1A!!,!!!,) says Cash (ones, )when you ta*e somebody%s

property and harm them in the process, it%s robbery) 2 a felony charge that could also put Knight away for years. )Suge was already out on bail for that case, and now he hasthis hit"and"run situation 2 and there%s -ideo of it that%s not in his fa-or. 4e%s o-erwith.)

4e was always the same guy,) says Wright, )boisterous, a bully.) Marion 4ugh Knight(r. grew up on the east side of Compton, in what was, by all accounts, a strong, lo-ingfamily. )The irony is that you would thin* this guy comes from a bro*en home,) saysformer >eath /ow publicist (onathan Wolfson, )but his parents ha-e been married tothis day, and they are the nicest .)

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)Suge%s daddy was lo-ely5) says Knight%s e6"girlfriend, the /3 singer Michel%le,tal*ing about Marion Knight Sr. and mother Ma6ine. )Oh, he%s ust a dream. 4ismother is nice too, but she has a mouth on her li*e Suge0 She%d curse you out oneminute and then go, %Well, you *now, baby, it%s OK% the ne6t. Suge is a mama%s boy,definitely.) Many who ha-e dealt with Knight cite his *een natural intelligence. )Suge

had huge potential,) says Wolfson. )4e could%-e done anything 2 he was a force.)

$ charismatic, gifted athlete, Knight wanted more than his parents% two"bedroomhome. )$s soon as was old enough,) he told The Guardian in !!A, ) told myselfthat %d ne-er li-e or end up dying in a place li*e that. made up my mind that wanted e-erything, and nothing would stop me.) Knight started playing on the#ynwood 4igh football teamD he was fast as well as strong. ) remember our coachchastising me because Suge beat me in a race, and was a running bac*, and he was alineman,) says Wright. Knight said that he would sha*e down wealthy white *ids

outside their 4ollywood high schools, but he was more of an alpha"male football player than a hoodlum as a teenager. )4e had twin cousins, /onald and >onald,) saysWright, )and they pretty much ran #ynwood 4igh School.) 4is neighborhood was aPiru 3loods 'one 2 Knight has said he sometimes saw bodies in the alleys on the wayto school 2 but )gangbangers didn%t mess with the athletes,) says Wright.

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$aron 4ernande'0 The ;angster in the 4uddle 9Knight had two impressi-e seasons at the ni-ersity of @e-ada"#as ?egas, and a

short"li-ed @ career, going undrafted but ma*ing it onto the #os $ngeles /ams as areplacement player for two games during the stri*e season of ABLQ. That same year, heshot a man in #as ?egas while allegedly trying to steal his car, and was arrested forattempted murder. Knight pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and was put on

probation, but his pro football career was o-er.

nterestingly, Wright attributes some of Knight%s unpredictability and rage to diabetes,which has shadowed him throughout his life. )$ lot of people don%t *now Suge hasdiabetes real bad,) Wright says. )4e doesn%t ha-e the correct medication to treat it, orgo to the doctor to get it controlled correctly. So a lot of the times when he gets angry,it%s because his sugar is up.)

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Knight at #ynwood 4igh School in ABL. #ynwood 4igh SchoolWith the door to the @ closed, Knight used his si'e to get into the music business,wor*ing as a bodyguard for 3obby 3rown. Knight began mo-ing in the same circlesas rapper the >.O.C., as well as >re, 8a'y"8, Cube 2 and a young MC named Mario(ohnson, who complained that he%d written much of ?anilla ce%s To the

Extreme. Knight saw his opportunity, which supposedly led to the notorious hotel"room confrontation with the white &lorida rapper. ce settled with Knight for anunspecified amount. t was his first big payday.

The ne6t brea*through came when >.O.C., >re and Knight hatched a plan to get therappers out of their contracts with 4eller%s /uthless /ecords. >eath /ow was foundedin ABBA, and the ne6t few years were gilded with hits0 >re%s ABB classic TheChronicwent triple"platinum, followed by Snoop >ogg%s Nuadruple"

platinum Doggystyle. n the space of a few years, Knight had inserted himself into the

heart of West Coast hip"hop and ta*en o-er.

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Tupac /ecalls 3eing %n the Midst of War% in #ost nter-iew 9Michel%le, who was signed to /uthless and then >eath /ow, says that things began tosour between Knight and >re when Tupac came into the picture in ABB+. Knight feltthat >re didn%t ha-e Tupac%s gung"ho wor* ethicD Sha*ur would become both >eath/ow%s commercial focal point and Knight%s close friend in a way >re ne-er was. $t thesame time, Knight began to feel disrespected by the superstar producer. )>re did not

want to listen to Suge, and that bothered him,) Michel%le says. )Suge was li*e, %Eouwere getting two cents a record Hwith 8a'y"8 and 4ellerI, but helped you ma*e realmoney.% )

3ut Wright says the brea* came when Knight began a relationship with Michel%le 2 >re%s former fiancee and mother to his son Marcel 2 in the mid"@ineties. )>re waso-er Michel%le 2 he had another woman, but that%s still his baby mama,) Wright says.) thin* at first, Michel%le was Suge%s spy, telling him what was going on between(immy Ho-ineI and >re, but he grew to lo-e her.) Knight and Michel%le would ha-e adaughter, 3ailei, in !!.

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n ABB, >re split with Knight, forming his own label, $ftermath 2 li*e >eath /ow,under the umbrella of o-ine%s nterscope /ecords. Knight was relentless in trying toget bac* master recordings that he belie-ed belonged to >eath /ow. $ccording to/andall Sulli-an%s Labyrinth Knight tal*ed his way onto >re%s property claiming to beo-ine0 )When he opened the door, >re said, %n comes Suge with eight or nine

niggas,% ) demanding the tapes.

(ones points to that time as a crossroads for both >re and Knight. )Eou *now what >redid 4e *ept chasing success,) says (ones. )The fact remains that right now, today,Suge sits in prison facing murder charges, and >re is a billionaire.)

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>r. >re, nc.0 $ 3rief 4istory of Mogul%s 3iggest >eals 9

This fact is not lost on Knight, who still feels entitled to hundreds of millions ofdollars from >re. $ccording to a !e" #or$ Times article, )Knight told in-estigators hee6pected a A! percent share of the proceeds from last year%s 17 billion sale by H>reI of3eats to $pple.)

3oth friends and foes agree that Knight ne-er Nuite reco-ered from his fi-e"year prison bid, which started in ABB. 4e tried to *eep his hands on the reins of >eath /ow 2 which was still a commercial force 2 from Mule Cree*, a medium"security prisonin a small @orthern California town, where he%d been placed in the general

population.Wright, who was now managing >eath /ow%s day"to"day operations, would-isit Mule Cree* from Thursday to Sunday each wee* to *eep Knight abreast of labelacti-ities, while >eath /ow%s new publicist, Wolfson 2 a @ew Eor*er who hadrecently started his own P/ company J found himself adapting to the uniNue wor*conditions. ) was this (ewish *id from /oc*land County J %d ne-er e-en been to a ail

before,) recalls Wolfson, who would wor* with Knight for si6 years. ) was instructedto bring 17! in single dollar bills to use in -ending machines. %d put this mountain offood on the table for him to eat. They had this prisoner wal*ing around with a Polaroidcamera. &or 1 he would ta*e a picture with you and your imprisoned lo-ed one infront of this bac*drop with clouds and a s*yline. That%s actually where we did a few ofour press shots.)

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Kinight ran >eath /ow out of a medium"security prison in @orthern California fromABB"!!A, using Polaroids ta*en by an inmate as promo photos. Courtesy of (onathanWolfson)When went up to the penitentiary to see Suge for the first time, it was a real trippye6perience,) notes K6ng Croo*ed, a rapper who was signed to >eath /ow under the

name Croo*ed from ABBB to !!F. ) went there to tal* about my record deal, and wewere negotiating on nap*ins5 4e%d as* me what wanted, and %d write it on the nap*inand slide it o-er0 %$h, that%s doable. . . .% t was cra'y. Suge was li*e, % can get you;rammys, can put your name up on billboards. . . . can do all this.% )

When Knight got out of prison in !!A, )4e was different,) Wright says. )$nd he wasmore notorious than e-er.) Knight Nuic*ly returned to the high"roller lifestyle he%denoyed in the @ineties. )There was a lot of partying 2 in @ew Eor*, 4ouston,Chicago, Malibu, staying at the &our Seasons in 4awaii,) says Croo*ed. )We too*

Suge%s yacht out a couple of times and got >(s and caterers on there, called up somewell"*nown strippers. We spent a lot of time ust enoying life.)

There were signs that the party was going to end. >eath /ow had split with distributornterscope in ABBL, which meant less of a financial safety net. 3ut in Knight%s absence,the label had some success with posthumous Tupac releases and a greatest"hitscompilation, and soon assembled a promising new roster featuring rappers such asCroo*ed and Kurupt of Tha >ogg Pound 2 and briefly, before her death in a !! carcrash, T#C%s #isa )#eft"8ye) #opes. ) lo-ed #eft"8ye 2 she brought so much peaceto the label, bro,) says Croo*ed. )She would ma*e sure the guys were eating well, andma*e you herbal tea to clear up your cold. She was ust a warm spirit, bringing balanceinside that cra'y world.)

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&i-e Cra'y Moments &rom T#C%s %Cra'ySe6yCool% 3iopic 9$ccording to multiple sources, #eft"8ye was also getting warm with Knight. The twostarted an affair, which created its own drama. When she disco-ered a lo-e nest in the>eath /ow offices where he%d seduce other women, Wright says, #opes threw bleach

all o-er the furniture 2 causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. :Knight hassired at least se-en children with -arious women. Michel%le recalls disco-ering AQlingerie"stuffed ?ictoria%s Secret bags during a wor* trip to the 3ahamas with Knight

before they were an item 2 each bag apparently intended for a different womanKnight was in-ol-ed with.=

Knight%s dreams of restoring >eath /ow to its former glory soon fi''led. @ot longafter he got out, )4e said, %#et%s go to @ew Eor* 2 we%-e got to let the world *nowthat we%re bac*5% ) says Croo*ed. )So we hit the media trail -ery hard 2 went to all the

main stations, all the maga'ines, e-erything. t ust felt li*e, %OK, it%s about to popoff.% )

t ne-er did. )Croo*ed was one of the hardest rappers on the West Coast bac* then 2 lyrically, he could stand with anybody,) says (ones. )3ut he had no distribution 2 and, ultimately, no album on >eath /ow.) @early all of the label%s proects fromthat era suffered similar fates.

)$ lot of people didn%t want to see Suge succeed,) Croo*ed says. )People were

intimidated by him. The ball would start mo-ing, and then it would ust stop dead.)

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)@o one wanted to do business with him,) says (ones. )4e had no artists, radio showedhim no fa-ors, his office building was in foreclosure, and there were all *inds of ta6liens and lawsuits. 4e had to re-ert bac* to what he *new 2 which was the bloc*.)

)We were getting into brawls, and our C8O was throwing punches too,) Croo*ed says.Comic relief at the >eath /ow headNuarters on Wilshire 3oule-ard was pro-ided by a

pet parrot sNuaw*ing curse words. pon entering the office foyer, guests were greeted by a painting depicting >re being sodomi'ed by a muscular blond man, as >iddy,sporting a ballet tutu, and a pigli*e @otorious 3..;. loo* on. ;angbangers roamed thehalls, sometimes wal*ing pit bulls on chains. )People on the street loo*ed at >eath/ow as a gang more than a record label,) adds Croo*ed. ) bought myself a -est, andan arsenal 2 a .7+Q Magnum and a PLB /uger. That%s how real it was. don%t thin* itwill e-er be li*e that again, and don%t want it to be.)


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Suge Knight lea-ing his midtown hotel to promote >eath /ow /ecords in @ew Eor*City on October A+th, !!F. $rnaldo MagnaniG;etty$t the !!F ?ibe $wards ceremony in Santa Monica, Knight allegedly paid anassociate to punch >re as he prepared to accept a lifetime achie-ement award 2 afterwhich >re%s attac*er was stabbed, apparently in retaliation, by ;"nit rapper Eoung

3uc*. :3uc* was sentenced to three years% probationD his -ictim suffered a collapsedlungD Knight was in-estigated but ne-er charged.= )We were at the ?ibe $wards forone reason and one reason only0 for a problem,) admits (ones, who attended the e-entalongside Knight.

The authorities, meanwhile, were *eeping an eye on Knight and >eath /ow. )Therewas pressure from the police,) Croo*ed remembers. )f you were on >eath /ow, yourcar and house were definitely mar*ed. $ cop would ust *noc* on your door and say,%We%re ust chec*ing on you. We *now you >eath /ow rappers, we *now how you all

li*e to li-e.% ) One day in !!, the #.$. County Sheriff%s >epartment stormed thelabel%s office in a morning raid in-ol-ing a gang"related homicide. )They madee-eryone get on the ground,) Croo*ed says. )Then they cut up the ceiling and too* allthe computers.) Croo*ed had enough0 )%m an artist. got tired of li-ing this lifestyleand not putting out music.) :Croo*ed is currently signed to 8minem%s Shady /ecordsas a member of rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, and also performs as a solo artist.=

The final blow for >eath /ow came in !!+, when #ydia 4arris was awarded astaggering 1A!Q million damages udgment. >eath /ow had been started with moneyfrom 4arris% then"husband, imprisoned drug dealer Michael )4arry O) 4arris. 3ut herreasons for suing Knight were personal as well as financial. )Eears had gone by, andthen Suge got on national T?, saying that slept with so many guys,) says 4arris, whowas also awarded damages for defamation of character as part of the larger lawsuit.

The following year, >eath /ow declared ban*ruptcy, and the label%s assets weree-entually liNuidated and sold. )They auctioned off e-erything,) Croo*ed claims.)They e-en sold Suge%s bo6er briefs that they found in the penthouse suite on top ofthe >eath /ow building5 4ere was one of the only $frican"$merican men to own amaor building on Wilshire 3oule-ard, and they sold the man%s %uc$ing dra"ers. That

either inspires you to get up and create something e-en bigger 2 or you crumble upinside and become bitter.)

Knight%s finances ha-e ne-er fully recuperated. 4e was recently in negotiations to sellhis life rights for film, T? and technology proects to a company called 8-erlert. ts

president, Mar* 3lan*enship 2 a Eale"educated former attorney and one"time/epublican congressional candidate who sports a long braid down his bac* 2 saysthat, than*s to Knight%s latest ordeal, those life rights are becoming )more and more-aluable e-ery day.) 3ut in the meantime, 3lan*enship says that 8-erlert had to help

pay the school tuition for Knight%s young son #egend.


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$ccording to Wright, the ban*ruptcy )bro*e the man down.) Knight was busted formariuana possession in !!+ :the charge was later dropped=, and in !!L he wasarrested for beating his then"girlfriend Melissa saac while in possession of 8cstasyand hydrocodone. :Knight pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, was charged a 17F!fine and ordered to undergo counseling.= )Suge didn%t do drugs bac* in the old days

2 he didn%t smo*e mariuana, or anything,) Michel%le claims. )$ll he%d do was ha-e aglass of champagne to toast with at celebrations. That was it.)

SIDEBA

Suge Knight >oesnRt /eally Care Who Shot 4im Si6 Times 9n !!+, at a party thrown by Kanye West at Miami 3each%s Shore Club before theMT? ?ideo Music $wards, Knight was shot in the leg. The shooter 2 according tofederal documents obtained by the Smo*ing ;un 2 was allegedly paid 1A!,!!! to doso by (immy )4enchman) /osemond, a now"imprisoned cocaine traffic*er and former

manager of rapper the ;ame. ) tal*ed to Suge from the hospital, and he told me heaccidentally shot himself, which ne-er made sense to me,) says #loyd )TaTa) #a*e, aformer friend and business associate. ) disco-ered that was a lie when a friend ofmine told me about a phone con-ersation he%d hoo*ed up between Suge and (immy4enchman. 4e Nuoted (immy as telling Suge, %Keep my motherfuc*ing name out yourmouth, or ne6t time %m gonna pay my shooter HanotherI A! grand to raise the barrel.% ):$udaciously, Knight sued West for ha-ing inadeNuate security and the loss of a1A7+,!!! diamond earringD they settled out of court.= $nd ust last year, Knight wasshot si6 times by an un*nown assailant at a party thrown by Chris 3rown at West4ollywood hot spot A Oa* the night before the ?ideo Music $wardsD Knight reco-ered

but has reportedly suffered from blood clots since the shooting.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/suge-knight-doesnt-really-care-shot-him-six-times-20140904http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/suge-knight-doesnt-really-care-shot-him-six-times-20140904


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Kanye West and Suge Knight at Kanye%s pre"?M$s party on $ugust Qth,!!+. (ohnny @une'GWiremageG;ettyThe once"untouchable Knight seemed diminished and -ulnerable. )Eou couldn%t ha-e

paid nobody bac* in the day to e-en loo* at the dude wrong,) says (ones. With >eath/ow gone, )he lost his entourage,) says Wright.

Knight%s ongoing embrace of the thug life may ha-e destroyed any remainingcredibility he had as a businessman. )When it comes to the Piru shit, he should%-e

stepped away a long time ago,) says (ones. )nstead, he got nec*"deep into it.) With proceeds from >re%s chart"topping hits a distant memory, and no new brea*through


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artists to profit from, Knight has apparently had to find alternati-e sources of income.)Suge had to go bac* and adapt to what he *new0 going around and getting moneyfrom people that he felt owed him,) Wright says. n !!Q, when a reporterfor The &ashington 'ost as*ed Knight how he still had money, he preferred to e-adethe answer rather than lie. ) don%t lie,) said Knight. )The only people lie to are the

police.)

:One former Knight associate, howe-er, belie-es the >eath /ow boss had unusuallyclose ties with law enforcement. ) always Hthought Knight wasI an informant,) says#a*e. )The &3 *nows the hip"hop industry, entertainment and drugs on the streets areall intertwined, so you can%t find a better informant for the go-ernment than SugeKnight J he can infiltrate almost any camp.) Knight%s lawyer Mesereau calls #a*e%sassertion )absolute nonsense,) and (ones also disputes the idea0 )There%s a code in thestreets. f you don%t ha-e real proof, don%t call nobody a rat.)=

Knight does ha-e a gi-ing side that friends say is genuine, e-en if it sometimesresembles a scene from a 4ollywood gangster mo-ie. Croo*ed recalls Knightspontaneously spending 17!,!!! at a Toys / s and distributing the spoils at a localchildren%s hospitalD on &ather%s >ay, he%d hire a bus to bring children to -isit theirincarcerated dads. Passing out tur*eys in the hood on Than*sgi-ing became an annual>eath /ow tradition, as did Knight%s )Single Mother%s >ay) e-ent 2 where he%d rentout ballrooms in a fancy 3e-erly 4ills hotel for a fi-e"star celebration for singlemothers, who would come in from all o-er greater #os $ngeles. $nd despite conflictso-er child support, Michel%le claims Knight is a lo-ing dad to their A"year"olddaughter. )4e%s a great father to all his *ids,) she says.

4e also still inspires loyalty in some former associates. )uite fran*ly, with all theheadaches that had with Suge through the years, the good outweighed the bad,) saysWolfson, who now manages 4all and Oates. ) truly owe him a debt of gratitude foractually allowing me to ma*e decisions at the highest le-el.)

)There were not a lot of people in the music industry hiring guys who%d had brushes

with the law bac* in the day,) says Wright. )4e did that. 4e ga-e them obs, he ga-ethem a chance when no one else would. $nd that%s why he has so much anger 2 because he feels he%s helped a lot of people. @ow all these people ha-e turned their bac*s on him.)

Meanwhile, Knight%s former circle is debating the outcome of his current situation.)The lowest can see him getting, realistically, is ! to 7! years,) says (ones. )Worst"case scenario, he%ll get life. 8ither way, he%s out of business.)

$fter hiring and firing a number of lawyers in rapid succession 2 including &letcherand, for a brief reunion, >eath /ow%s infamous legal consigliere in the @ineties, >a-id


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Kenner 2 Knight has recently retained the powerful Mesereau, who successfullydefended Michael (ac*son in his !!+ child"molestation case and has representedcontro-ersial figures ranging from Mi*e Tyson to actor /obert 3la*e. ) am con-incedof Knight%s innocence, and am con-inced these cases should not ha-e been filed. loo* forward to defending him,) Mesereau told (olling Stone. )$ll am going to say at

this point is that he was defending himself at all times, and should not be facing anycharge of murder, attempted murder or hit"and"run. f had been dri-ing the truc*, would not e-en ha-e been charged with a misdemeanor. $nd as far as his robbery casegoes, it%s utterly ridiculous.)

$s many of his associates ha-e noted, Knight has gotten out of seemingly impossiblesituations before. ) still consider Suge a friend, but can%t deal with that nigga 2 he%scra'y,) says Wright. )4e%s been *noc*ed out three or four times, and he%s still wal*ingand tal*ing li*e he%s the baddest brother around. 4e%s got some wiggle room, though.

>on%t count him out yet.)

)The Suge Knight story has twists and turns, don%t it) Croo*ed says. )We don%t ha-eany clue how it will end. 4e seems to thin* that he%ll be bac* on the streets.)

Croo*ed goes on to relate a story about the day that Knight turned himself in to police.

)4e was smo*ing a cigar, and he put it up in a tree,) says Croo*ed. )Then he said, %%llget bac* to that.% )

From The Archives Issue 1239: July 16, 2015

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