Suge Knight's bio: age, height, net worth, wife, kids, is he dead?
Suge Knight was sentenced to 28 years behind bars in 2018 for voluntarily murder. Besides working on Tupac's album, the 56-year-old imprisoned music executive also released The Chronic for Dr Dre in 1992 and D*ggystyle for Snoop Dogg in 1993.
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Unfortunately, using violence and intimidation in business later cost Suge Knight's career, family, and wealth. His Death Row Records landed into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006. As a result, Snoop Dog (one of Suge's early signees) took over as the new owner on 10th February 2022.
Suge Knight's profile summary
- Full name: Marion Hugh Knight Jr
- Stage name: Suge Knight
- Childhood nickname: Sugar Bear
- Place of birth: Compton, California, U.S.A.
- Birthdate: 19th April 1965
- Age: 56 years as of 2022
- Zodiac sign: Aries
- Star symbol: Ram
- Nationality: American
- Ethnicity: African-American
- Mother: Maxine Chatman
- Father: Marion Knight Sr.
- Sisters: Karen Anderson and Charlinda Tubbs
- Sexuality: Straight
- Marital status: Single
- Ex-spouses: Sharitha Lee and Michel'le Denise Toussant
- Children: 7
- Height: 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 metres)
- Weight: 120 kilograms (264.5 pounds)
- Hair colour: Dark brown
- Eye colour: Black
- Net worth: $200k (approx.)
- Alma mater: Lynwood High School and the University of Nevada
- Occupation: Former football player, entrepreneur, and music executive
- Record labels: 1017 Records, Black Kapital Records, and Death Row Records
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Who is Suge Knight?
Marion Hugh Knight Jr (his real name) is a former music executive. He was the co-founder and C.E.O. of the now-defunct Death Row Records and one of the forces behind the global success of the gangsta-rap music genre.
Source: Getty Images
Where is Suge Knight from?
He was born in Compton, California, U.S.A., to Maxine Chatman (mum) and Marion Knight Sr (dad). Suge Knight's parents had two more children named Karen Anderson and Charlinda Tubbs.
How old is Suge Knight?
Suge Knight's age is 56 years as of 2021 because his birthday was 19th April 1965. His childhood nickname, Sugar Bear, gave rise to the Suge stage name when he became a star.
Suge Knight's height and body measurements
The former record label owner has a large body frame. So, how tall is Suge Knight? He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 120 kilograms. Additionally, the man has dark brown eyes and black hair. His imposing body is one of his distinctive features.
Educational background
Hugh graduated from Lynwood High School in 1983. Since he was among its best track athletes and football players, Marion played for El Camino College's football team for two years before transferring to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1985.
Who was Suge Knight's wife?
He proposed to his high school sweetheart, Sharitha Lee, in 1989. They both attended the University of Nevada but ended the marriage due to Sage's infidelity.
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He married Michel'le Denise Toussant (American R&B singer) in 1999 while in prison and sent her to rehab. They also had a daughter named Bailei in 2002.
She discovered that their marriage was invalid while seeking a divorce from her abusive husband six years later. At that time, Hugh was still married to another woman.
In 2018, Toi Lin Kelly (his fiancé) received a 3-year-sentence for helping him communicate with Death Row's producers in 2015. Before this, the judge had ordered Marion to contact no one else but his lawyer ahead of his murder trial.
Suge Knight's children
Suge and Sharitha Lee have a child named Arion. Snoop Dogg is Arion's godfather. The star then had son Taj with Davina Barnes in 1991. Before getting married to Hugh, Michel'le had a daughter named Posh with Dr Dre, which shattered the men's friendship.
Meanwhile, Suge Knight's son, Suge Jacob, is not adopted as some people claim. Instead, the famous music producer, content creator, and realtor is the son of Stormey Ramdhan (Marion's ex-fiancée). She raised him and his younger brother, Sosa, as a single parent.
The youngest one, Legend, was only eight years old when Hugh was imprisoned. Meanwhile, people doubt if Andrew Knight is the artist's son. His mum, Tia Rowe, claims he is Suge's son, yet his real name is Andrew Payan. She dated Suge years ago then got married to Ed Payan.
Source: Getty Images
Career history
He played for his university's Nevada Wolf Pack team for two years, then moved to the Los Angeles Rams during the 1987 N.F.L. Players Strike. Hugh played two games with the club while working part-time as a concert promoter and escort for celebrity Bobby Brown.
Marion established a music company in 1989 and gained a breakthrough when Vanilla Ice transferred the royalties of his hit single, Ice Ice Baby, to him. It was, however, reported that Hugh's bodyguards harassed the artist severally, thus forcing him to make the big decision.
They even entered Vanilla Ice's hotel room and loosely swung him off the balcony by his ankles. Marion later signed up several rappers to his artists' management company, including The D.O.C, N.W.A., and DJ Quik.
The rise and fall of Death Row Records
He then partnered with Dr Dre, Harry-O (Michael Harris), and The D.O.C in establishing the Death Row recording label. The company was instrumental in the 1990s success of gangster-rap music.
Harris contributed $1.5 million towards the label. Later, he was jailed for partnering with Cali Cartel in a large-scale drug trafficking business. Afterwards, Hugh promised to make Harry's wife Lydia a music star while Harris' attorney (David Kenner) worked as the label's lawyer and managed his investments.
Death Row's early signees were Tupac Shakur, Dr Dre, MC Hammer, and Snoop Dogg, but MC Hammer left shortly after signing up. Snoop Dogg's 1993 debut album D*ggystyle received Quadruple Platinum status, while Dr Dre's 1992 album, The Chronic, earned America's Triple Platinum recognition in the same year.
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At that time, Marion's feuds with Sean Combs (Puff Daddy) and the 2 Live Crew were intense. He insulted Sean during the 1995 Source Awards then pledged to pay Tupac Shakur's $1.4 million bail if he signed up with Death Row.
Tupac grabbed the deal and released two albums in 1996, Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and All Eyez on Me. The label earned a $750 million revenue from the 150 million albums it sold globally before Hugh's imprisonment for parole violations resulting from an assault case dimmed its glory in 1997.
Dr Dre and other prominent artists soon left the label. Later, rumours linked him to Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls' murders, but he was neither charged nor convicted.
What happened to Suge Knight?
The star has been caught up in some law violation activities, including:
- 2015: His car crashed into Terry Carter (Heavyweight Records' co-founder) and film producer Cle Sloan (Terry's friend).
- 2012: The music producer was arrested in Las Vegas for several outstanding warrants for traffic violations, and the police retrieved cannabis in his car.
- 2003: Hugh was jailed again for disobeying parole after assaulting a parking lot attendant.
- 1996: Marion was sentenced to nine years for the 7th September 1996 probation violation and released early on 6th August 2001. He and another man attacked a rival gang member called Orlando Anderson.
- 1995: He got a five years' probation for assaulting two rappers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.
Source: Getty Images
Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G's deaths
Tupac was shot four times when a white Cadillac pulled up close to Hugh's car at 11:15 pm on 7th September 1996 while the bullets fragments hit Marion's head. Unfortunately, Tupac died at Southern Nevada's University Medical Centre six days later.
Hugh claimed in 2017 that ex-wife Sharita and Death Row staff Reggie Wright Jr tried to eliminate him but accidentally killed Tupac. She refuted the allegations, and the L.A. Times later linked the shooting to a Compton gang.
Tupac's East Coast competitor, Biggie Smalls (B.I.G), also died in an almost similar incident on 9th March 1997. The murder was linked to the Crips street gang but never resolved.
Meanwhile, some of Death Row's former artists like Snoop Dogg speculated that Marion was involved in both murders. They also assumed that Biggie's case was a revenge murder.
Why is Suge Knight in jail?
Hugh had a fatal hit-and-run in his hometown, Compton, in 2015. He hit two men, one died, and the other was injured. As a result, Marion was sentenced to 22 years in prison after a no-contest plea to voluntary murder.
What disease does Suge Knight have?
Knight had been ailing from blood clots for two years when he received medical attention in March 2017. As a result, his trial was postponed to September 2018, where he made a no-contest plea to the voluntary murder charges.
Source: Getty Images
Where is Suge Knight now?
Suge Knight's sentence will end in 2040, but he will be eligible for parole in October 2034. Later, he got six years more for disregarding California's three-strike law. Meanwhile, Suge Knight's jail is the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County, California.
Is Suge Knight still rich?
On 4th April 2006, Sugar Bear filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a foul business deal with Lydia Harris. After investigations, gross mismanagement of Death Row Records was discovered.
In June 2007, Suge Knight's house in Malibu, California, was placed on sale for $6.2 million and sold in December 2008 for $4.56 million in bankruptcy court.
The court auctioned Death Row Records in June 2008 and transferred the ownership to Wideawake Entertainment. On 25th January 2009, everything in its office was auctioned.
Although Suge Knight's jail term is still on, some money is attached to his name. Currently, most online sources estimate Suge Knight's net worth as $200k.
Suge Knight is now doing time in San Diego County, California. Moreover, this celebrity convict has not been trending for several years now.
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