Suge Knight is to give an “unflinching” look at his life and career with a new memoir.
On Tuesday, a representative from Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint announced that the former record mogul, a divisive figure in the hip-hop community, had written a book titled Your Pain Is My Joy.
Suge, real name Marion Hugh Knight Jr., was a key figure in the rise of gangsta rap in the 1990s, having served as co-founder of Death Row Records.
The label was known for releasing Dr. Dre’s debut album, The Chronic, in 1992, and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, the following year.
“Back when the streets and the music business mixed freely, Suge Knight brought rap icons such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur to global superstardom with the creation of his label Death Row Records,” a synopsis reads. “Living by the rules of the streets, where might makes right and only the strong survive, Suge made his artists household names the same way he fought his way out of Compton, Los Angeles: By overpowering anyone who got in his way.”
In addition to chronicling his rise to fame, Knight also indicated he would offer up some stories about hip-hop stars such as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Tupac Shakur, with whom he was with on the night that the Dear Mama rapper was shot and killed at the age of 25 in a drive-by shooting in Nevada in 1996.
“Everyone in the rap game has a story about Suge Knight. Now, for the first time, Suge is telling his side,” the summary adds. “From his legendary encounter with Vanilla Ice to blow-out brawls with P. Diddy and the night when he and Tupac got shot in Vegas, Suge doesn’t shy away from the controversy that has followed him his entire life. He pulls no punches, asks for no forgiveness, and explains exactly how he battled his way to the top.”
Knight, 60, is currently in prison. He was given a 28-year sentence after he pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Your Pain Is My Joy is set to be released on 4 August 2026.
