Entertainment

Ex-Rap Mogul ‘Suge’ Knight Arrested in Deadly Hit-and-Run

Published

12 years ago

January 30, 2015

This image from video shows Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight, right, walking into the Los Angeles County Sheriffs department early Friday morning Jan. 30, 2015 in connection with a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another injured. (AP Photo/OnSceneVideo via AP Television)

RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Marion “Suge” Knight, the former rap music mogul with a long history of violent crimes, was arrested early Friday on suspicion of a hitting and killing a man with his car and then fleeing the crash near Los Angeles.

Knight’s attorney said the founder of Death Row Records accidentally ran over and killed a friend and injured another man as he tried to escape attackers Thursday, but witnesses and authorities say an argument between the men escalated into Knight ramming the pair.

Knight, who created one of rap’s leading labels and launched artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, turned himself in to authorities and was arrested around 3 a.m. PST, said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was held on $2 million bail and could face a murder charge, she said.

A red pickup truck drove into the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant Thursday afternoon in the Los Angeles-area city of Compton, and its driver started arguing with two people there, sheriff’s officials said. The argument escalated, and the pickup struck the men around 3 p.m. and then took off, officials said.

“Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again,” sheriff’s Lt. John Corina said.

“The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act,” he said.

A 55-year-old man died at a hospital, and a 51-year-old man was injured, but officials did not immediately know his condition.

Witnesses also spoke of an argument.

“To see the argument happen, it’s one thing,” said 17-year-old Robert Smith, who was eating in the restaurant. “Seeing the car incident, that was shocking.”

Knight’s attorney, James Blatt, said the crash was an accident.

“He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men, and in an effort to escape, he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals,” the lawyer said. “He was in his car trying to escape.”

The empty truck was found late Thursday night in a West Los Angeles parking lot, Corina said. Knight was seen driving a red pickup truck 20 minutes earlier in a different part of town where a music video was being filmed, the lieutenant said.

“We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated,” Blatt said.

Knight founded Death Row Records in the 1990s, but he later declared bankruptcy, and the company was auctioned off.

Many of the records Knight released helped immortalize Compton, the city where the crash occurred, in hip-hop folklore as a gritty and violent urban environment, though crime has dipped significantly there since its 1990s peak.

Knight lengthy history of run-ins with the law range from assaults to driving violations.

In November, he pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

He has felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 and was sentenced to five years’ probation for assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.

He also served timed for probation violations.

Last August, Knight was shot six times at a Los Angeles nightclub. No arrests have been made.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Robert Jablon contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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Art

Misty Copeland Shapes Ballet’s Tomorrow

THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY — Misty Copeland will curate the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival, a two-week event in New York City from August 4-16. This role allows her to influence the future of ballet by showcasing a wide range of dancers, choreographers, and companies. The festival will present both established and contemporary works, blending classical traditions with new artistic expressions.

Published

4 days ago

August 9, 2026

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Misty Copeland at the 2026 Met Gala, wearing fashion in theme of "Costume Art" Date 4 May 2026, 19:39:21

This summer, Misty Copeland will step into a different kind of spotlight. Instead of taking center stage as a dancer, she will help determine what audiences see onstage as curator of the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival. Taking place August 4 through August 16 at The Joyce Theater in New York City, the two-week celebration will bring together dancers, choreographers and companies representing a broad spectrum of ballet. The festival gives Copeland an opportunity to share not only her appreciation for ballet’s traditions, but also her vision for its future.

Copeland understands better than most how powerful a ballet stage can be. Her historic career with American Ballet Theatre changed the conversation about representation in one of the world’s most traditional performing arts. When she became the company’s first Black woman to reach the rank of principal dancer, her achievement carried significance far beyond a personal milestone. It gave young dancers of color a new image of what was possible and challenged the industry to reconsider who belonged at the center of ballet.

That history informs the perspective she brings to the festival. Copeland has spent much of her career moving between performance, mentorship, advocacy and storytelling. Her curatorial role allows her to bring those interests together by creating a program that does not treat ballet as a museum piece. Instead, the festival presents dance as an evolving language capable of carrying classical traditions into new cultural and artistic territory.

Audiences will encounter a mixture of established works and contemporary creations during the festival. Classical ballet vocabulary will share space with choreography that pushes dancers toward different physical, emotional and theatrical possibilities. The result is intended to give audiences a broader understanding of the art form while demonstrating that tradition and innovation do not have to be competing forces.

The lineup also provides an opportunity to see dancers from different artistic environments. Performers connected to organizations including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Houston Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet are among those represented in the festival. Each company carries its own history and artistic identity, making their participation part of a larger conversation about the many ways ballet can be performed and interpreted.

The presence of Dance Theatre of Harlem is particularly meaningful within the larger story of Copeland’s career and the evolution of Black representation in ballet. Founded during a period when opportunities for Black dancers were severely limited, the company helped demonstrate that excellence and classical training could flourish in a Black cultural environment. Its legacy continues to influence dancers and audiences, making its connection to a festival curated by Copeland especially resonant.

The program also reaches beyond a single definition of contemporary ballet. Choreographers with different backgrounds and artistic philosophies contribute to an evening that can move from recognizable classical structures to works shaped by modern dance, theater, popular culture and new approaches to movement. That diversity reflects a generation of artists who increasingly see ballet not as a rigid vocabulary but as a foundation from which they can explore.

For New York audiences, the festival offers something that is increasingly valuable: the opportunity to experience outstanding dancers in an intimate setting. The Joyce is known for presenting dance in a theater where audiences can see movement and artistry up close. That environment can make a familiar ballet work feel newly personal while allowing experimental pieces to communicate with unusual immediacy.

Copeland’s role as curator also sends a message about the importance of artistic leadership. The people who select performers and choreography help determine which stories receive attention and which artists receive opportunities. By bringing a range of voices into the festival, Copeland is using that responsibility to broaden the conversation around ballet. Her choices can introduce audiences to artists they may not otherwise encounter while encouraging longtime ballet followers to look at the form from a different perspective.

The 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival ultimately arrives at an important moment for the art form. Ballet is carrying centuries of tradition into an era defined by changing audiences, broader representation and increasingly adventurous choreography. Copeland’s festival reflects that transition. For two weeks in August, The Joyce will become a meeting place for the familiar and the unexpected—a celebration of where ballet came from and a preview of where it may be going. And with Misty Copeland helping shape the conversation, the future of ballet promises to be as expansive as the dancers who are defining it.

Based on reporting by The Positive Community.