Suge Knight was not involved in 'Straight Outta Compton,' director says

Suge Knight was not involved in ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ director says

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Suge Knight’s storied career has been inextricably entwined with legal trouble. A look at the Compton native’s life, so far, in pictures. (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

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Knight’s first big foray into music was with his own publishing company. One client wrote material for Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” but had not been paid. Various accounts said Knight dangled the rapper off a balcony, or threatened to, but Ice now says Knight was nice in asking for his cut. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

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When Knight started the record label Funky Enough, rapper DJ Quik, shown performing in Anaheim in 2002, was one of his first artists. (Al Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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After the success of Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” Knight and the Death Row Records crew ushered in the solo debut of Snoop Dogg, right, with “Doggystyle.” The record reached quadruple platinum in sales. (Handout; Patrick Downs / Los Angeles Times)

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Knight convinces rap star Tupac Shakur, left, to sign with Death Row by agreeing to post his $1.4 million bail when Shakur was in prison for a sexual assault conviction. Dr. Dre left Death Row in 1996 after internal disputes and being concerned with Knight’s behavior. (Frank Wiese / Associated Press)

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In 1997, Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for a probation violation stemming from a 1992 assault on two aspiring rappers. He was released in 2001. Pictured: Knight, wearing handcuffs, during a bail hearing in 1996. (Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times)

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Knight, shown walking out of the Los Angeles County jail in 2003, goes to prison again after hitting a parking lot attendant, a violation of his parole. Death Row records suffers while Knight is behind bars. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

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Knight files a lawsuit against rapper Kanye West, right, seeking over $1 million in damages regarding a 2005 party hosted by West where Knight got shot in the leg. The case remains unresolved. (Tammie Arroyo / Associated Press; Jim Cooper / Associated Press)

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Knight sustains six gunshot wounds during a party ahead of the MTV Video Music Awards hosted by R&B singer Chris Brown. Despite requiring surgery for his wounds, he is able to leave the club and seek help. Pictured: The scene at 1Oak nightclub in West Hollywood, August 2014. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Knight and comedian Katt Williams are charged with second-degree robbery for allegedly stealing a camera in Beverly Hills. Knight, shown in court after his October arrest, pleads not guilty. (John Locher / Associated Press)

By Lorraine AliSenior Writer

Jan. 30, 2015 2:25 PM PT

During a film shoot last fall in Leimert Park for “Straight Outta Compton,” a Universal Pictures biopic on the seminal Los Angeles rap group N.W.A., the film’s producers and founding group members Dr. Dre and Ice Cube sat behind a monitor, watching an angry “Suge” Knight peel off out of the parking lot.

The scene shot was with an actor playing the former Death Row Records CEO, but it depicted a pivotal, early ‘90s moment in N.W.A. and Knight’s tangled history. It was the beginnings of Dr. Dre’s volatile relationship with one of rap’s most powerful players.

This week, the real-life Knight reportedly tried to drive onto the Compton set where a commercial for the film was apparently being shot, and after he was turned away by security, he went to a Compton burger restaurant where an altercation reportedly ensued. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Knight ran over a film crew member and another man with his truck, killing one of them.

The 49-year-old has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

According to the film’s director, F. Gary Gray, in an interview he did on set in September, Knight had no involvement in the production of the film. When asked if Knight had ever visited the set as many former associates and group members had, the otherwise talkative Gray gave one flat answer: “No.”

The history between Knight and Dr. Dre is a tangled one. Dre and Knight worked closely in founding Death Row Records after N.W.A.’s demise in the early ‘90s. The label became associated with such rap luminaries as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Dr. Dre also became one of the most respected producers in hip-hop due to much of the work he did in that period.

But Death Row was also at the center of a lot of controversy, namely stories of Knight’s tactics to get what he wanted, and the still unsolved shooting deaths of Shakur and East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls.

When Dre left the label for major label Interscope, a feud ignited between him and Knight. Knight has since been in and out of jail on various charges, and his latest altercation included him being shot at a party thrown by singer Chris Brown.

The “Straight Outta Compton” film is slated for a summer release.

Twitter: @LorraineAli