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LA TIMES

From the beginning, Marion "Suge" Knight's life as a rap impresario was closely intertwined with the gangster ways extolled by his artists in their music.
His first notable brush with the law came in 1993, when as a leader of Death Row Records he was charged with using a gun to attack two aspiring rappers.
Over the next 20 years, he spent stints in jail and was injured several times by gunfire, making tabloid headlines while his career diminished.
He now faces the most serious charges of his life, charged with murder for the killing a 55-year-old man after getting into an argument during the filming of a commercial for an upcoming movie about the early days of rap in Compton, California, where he grew up.

On Friday, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department released new details about the events leading up to the death of Terry Carter, hailed by some as a father figure for troubled young men.
Ice Cube and Dr Dre were among the big-name rappers who had converged on the area to film a commercial for Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about N.W.A., a seminal group from the early days of the genre.
On the set on Thursday, sheriff's deputies asked Knight, 49, to leave after he began arguing with another man, Cle "Bone" Sloan, Lieutenant John Corina said.
Later, at a Tam's Burgers restaurant, Knight was in his red Ford F-150 Raptor when he and Sloan tangled again, Corina said.
While Knight was still seated in his truck, he and Sloan argued and exchanged punches. Knight reversed his truck, knocking Sloan to the ground, Corina said.
Knight drove forward, appearing to aim the vehicle at Sloan and Carter, who was standing next to Sloan, authorities said.
Carter, who detectives say was not involved in the argument, died at the scene. Sloan, 51, who appeared in Training Day with Denzel Washington and is also a filmmaker and activist against gang violence, was said to be stable and was expected to survive.
After striking the men, Knight drove off without notifying authorities, Corina said. Knight's attorney, James Blatt, described Carter as a good friend of Knight who was trying to break up the fight. Blatt contradicted the detectives' narrative, saying that Knight went to Tam's Burgers at Carter's invitation. There, according to Blatt, Knight was attacked by four men, including Sloan, and was trying to escape, fearing for his life, when he ran over Carter and Sloan.
"I'll say this - when someone is attacking you in the vehicle, grabbing at the steering wheel, you don't have the best control of your vehicle," Blatt said.
Knight was heartbroken when he learned Carter had died, Blatt said. The two had known each other since the 1980s and were in business together for a time.
Knight co-founded Death Row Records, the first rap label to consistently dominate the pop scene, with Dre in 1991.
Death Row's artists included Snoop Dogg, Tupac and Dre himself - men presenting themselves as involved in the gangland battles they wrote about.
But while other celebrated gangster rappers have moved beyond the genre's thug life image as they grew successful, Knight continued to find trouble.
"It's just a shame that he carried on, playing into the role that people have made for him," said Nina Bhadreshwar, who worked for Death Row Records from 1994 to 1996 and has written a trilogy of books about the label's early days. In 1996, he was at the wheel of a BMW in Las Vegas when passenger and popular rapper Tupac Shakur was shot by gunmen in another vehicle. Shakur died a week later, and the case has not been solved.
In 1997, Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating the terms of his probation from an earlier assault case. He was released from prison in 2001 but was sent back to jail two years later for violating parole when he hit a parking lot attendant.
In 2008, he was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of drug possession and aggravated assault.
Last August, Knight and two others were shot inside a packed West Hollywood nightclub at a pre-awards party hosted by singer Chris Brown.


Rap mogul Suge Knight's latest brush with law his most serious as he faces murder charges

Marion 'Suge' Knight

A deputy inspects scene where pedestrian was killed. Photo: Reuters

Knight on Vibe cover

Rap mogul ‘Suge’ Knight a suspect in LA hit-and-run killing

Police picture showing 'Suge' Knight.Photo: Reuters

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World

'Suge' Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, who now faces murder charges in killing of a friend, has lived the life of the music


From the beginning, Marion "Suge" Knight's life as a rap impresario was closely intertwined with the gangster ways extolled by his artists in their music.
