Death Row Records Gets Stay of Execution: Suge Knight Files for Bankruptcy

The founder and head of one of the most influential music labels of 1990's hip-hop, the controversial ex-con Suge Knight, has put his record company, Death Row Records, under bankruptcy protection in the U.S. For someone who has spent years in prison for a number of crimes and whose currency in the rap game is virtually non-existent, you would think that Knight had pretty much hit rock bottom, but, no, things are getting worse. Not only did a court action in 2005 rule that he would have to pay out over $100 million to former Death Row business partners and not only were his assets frozen last year, but now, to protect himself and Death Row from total ruin, he's had to file for bankruptcy. That's actually good news for Knight. Yes, it could be worse for the gansta' rap mogul -- He could have lost control of the company completely. It will be interesting to see if Knight can sort this mess out and turn a titanic situation around to into a titanic success once more. Knight's role in bringing Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tupac and the gangsta' rap game to the mainstream was a major force in the evolution of hip-hop and had a tremendous influence on pop culture.

Posted by Thurston Ali at April 5, 2006 07:44 AM