Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (/ʃʊɡ/; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record producer, music executive, former American football player and convicted felon. He is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Death Row Records rose to dominate the rap charts after Dr. Dre's breakthrough album The Chronic in 1992, and enjoyed several years of chart successes for artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Outlawz and Tha Dogg Pound.
In September, 2018, Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Marion Hugh Knight Jr. was born in Compton, California, the son of Maxine (née Dikemen) and Marion Knight Sr. His name, Suge, derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname. He attended Lynwood High School in nearby Lynwood, where he was a football and track star. He graduated in 1983.