10 Times Suge Knight Lived Up To His Reputation

After Tupac's death in 1996, the end was near for Death Row. Tupac's passing left many realising that everything had gone too far and the beef slowly fizzled out in to nothing.

Suge Knight was convicted of a parole violation early in 1997 and sentenced to nine years in prison, resulting in Interscope dropping their distribution deal with the label, prompting much of the remaining talent to seek greener pastures. Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Dr Dre all left Death Row as Knight's control rapidly declined. Dre went on to form Aftermath Entertainment, which went on to become hugely successful, signing a number of breakthrough talents including 50 Cent, The Game, and the label's homegrown star Eminem.

The launch of Eminem's career was far from smooth sailing however, and even while locked up Suge Knight's influence could still be felt and his grasp wasn't so easy to escape. According to Eminem's then-bodyguard Byron Williams, trouble arose at the 2001 Source Awards when some thugs claiming to represent Death Row began harassing Slim Shady supposedly on behalf of Knight. Things continued to intensify when they landed in Honolulu, where they were greeted by 20 police officers who informed them that Death Row were there, and Suge had sent 50 of his henchmen to break up the show.

Despite being firmly behind bars, Suge Knight was still managing to pull strings from behind the scenes and doing everything in his power to sabotage his former friends in order to retain his own, quickly vanishing crown.