Suge Knight has always been a very controversial figure in hip-hop, so much so that many people might have exaggerated ideas of what his intensity actually did and resulted in. At least, that's what Strange Music CEO Travis O'Guin believes, who started the music label with rapper Tech N9ne. He recently joined the Holdin Court podcast, on which Big Court asked him about whether or not he studied Suge. Also, Court remarked on how a lot of people villainize the Death Row Records executive these days, which leads to a lack of due credit for his more positive influences.
"I did [study him]," Strange Music CEO Travis O'Guin remarked about Suge Knight and his label boss tactics. "Suge is a good dude. I think the stories with Suge, of course they're going to get blown out of proportion. But at the end of it all, I believe that Suge did a lot of things that were absolutely f***ing necessary. The one area where Suge, in my opinion... He should've reeled in some of the little torpedoes around him. Every once in a while, you can let s**t go too far. So you got to sometimes, 'Hold on now, sit down, youngster.'
Why Is Suge Knight In Jail?
"But instead, he would go ahead and let some of the bulls**t happen that maybe shouldn't have happened," Fundamentally, though, I agree with a lot of what Suge did. I don't want to rule by fear, but every once in a while, that's the only f***ing language people understand. If you can't get somebody to see the right way and be righteous... they might need to be encouraged. [...] If those people have to be, you know, pushed into an area with slight little hints and fear, but it makes them do the right thing, I'm down."
These days, Suge Knight is dealing with more legal trouble, as the court recently upheld his 28-year prison sentence over voluntary manslaughter. That situation continues to affect the perception of his image in hip-hop, as well as his feuds and callouts concerning other rap celebrities. We will see if more people scrutinize history and separate the good from the bad.
