UPDATE: According to The Blast, Suge Knight clarified in a recorded statement from behind bars on Monday that while he has chosen Ray J to handle Death Row Records while he is incarcerated, it is in fact his fiancee Toi-Lin Kelly to whom he has given power of attorney to look after any movie, TV, or documentary deals. Meanwhile, Nick Cannon is said to have been given charge of creating a book about Knight’s life.
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Ray J now owns the rights to Suge Knight’s life story, which means that the Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star can decide how the Death Row Records mogul’s story is told through movie, TV, and book deals.
According to TMZ, Ray J has been friends with Suge Knight for decades and as he sits in prison, he’s confident that Ray J can make the right business moves to generate some income for both of them.
Sources close to Knight told TMZ that he hopes Ray J will make the right decisions in order to make sure Knight continues to make money while serving a 28-year prison sentence.
It looks like Ray J may already be hard at work too. There are claims that a documentary on Suge Knight and Death Row Records is already being developed. There allegedly is a project about Tupac Shakur in the works too.
Additionally, there is talk of bringing back Death Row Records, however, that is going to take some work and some more investors on Ray J’s end.
This is just one of many projects for Ray J, who has proved to be quite the businessman. In August he inked a $1 million marijuana business deal. He also has headphones and he just sold his scooter business for seven figures. That obviously was enough for Knight to trust his business acumen.
Why is Suge Knight in jail?
Knight is in prison after taking a 28-year plea deal last September for the murder of Terry Carter. Knight was facing life in prison.
His sentence was tougher than a normal manslaughter conviction because of a prior felony conviction and an extra five years were added because the murder was deemed a “serious and violent” felony. Knight ran over the victim in January 2015 while fleeing the Tam’s Burgers parking lot in Compton.
Surveillance video showed Knight put his truck in reverse, knock a man down, and then go forward, running over Carter – a move that ended up killing him. Knight said that the whole thing was an accident, but he was trying to escape because he thought both men were trying to shoot him.
Knight, was given credit for time served after awaiting trial for almost three and a half years. He’ll also be on parole for 3 years after serving his sentence. With prison overcrowding, it has been reported that Knight could be released in a little more than 10 years.