Suge Knight takes gangsta rap literally and founds Death Row Records

1991: Number 27 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of R&B and hip-hop musicIt was not just a battle between east and west coast, but between two types of hustle. The rough, in the form of Compton-born Marion "Suge" Knight, a failed American footballer whose intimidating physique and links to street crime became an asset while running gangsta rap label Death Row Records. And the smooth, epitomised by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, suburban New Yorker and founder of the Bad Boy label, a ...

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23:24 on June 12 2011

Suge Knight takes gangsta rap literally and founds Death Row Records

Guardian Music — 1991: Number 27 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of R&B and hip-hop musicIt was not just a battle between east and west coast, but between two types of h... more info

23:20 on June 12 2011

Dre's The Chronic and the ascent of the west coast

Guardian Music — December 1992: Number 31 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of R&B and hip-hop musicThe Chronic's lush, sophisticated production smoothed out the rattly ae... more info

Snoop Dogg Dr. Dre