"Suge is a good dude" — Strange Music CEO Travis O'Guin defends Suge Knight saying some of the things he did were "f***ing necessary"

In a recent podcast episode of Holdin Court (released on April 5), Travis O'Guin - the CEO of Strange Music - spoke in defense of Suge Knight. When Big Court remarked how Knight was villainized by a lot of people these days, leading to the lack of due credit for his more positive influences, O'Guin responded with:

"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**king necessary."

Then, claiming how Suge Knight should've stood up to defend himself once in a while, taking steps instead of holding back, the CEO continued:

"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 sh*t go too far. So you got to sometimes, 'Hold on now, sit down, youngster'. But instead, he would go ahead and let some of the bulls**t happen that maybe shouldn't have happened."

Travis also added that he fundamentally agreed with most of the decisions that the former Death Row Records co-founder made, adding:

"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."

Travis O'Guin's statement in the podcast comes after Suge Knight continued to face legal trouble after the court upheld his 28-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

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Suge Knight's court appeal was denied last month

Suge Knight's court appeal was held in a Los Angeles court on March 4, 2025, where his appeal was denied by Judge Laura F. Priver. Priver argued that Knight waited too long to file his appeal, which made the executive come across as insincere.

Knight defended his stance by claiming that he had received improper assistance from his previous lawyer, which was the reason behind the delay, as reported by Rolling Stone. Responding to that, Judge Priver said:

"It is clear that the petitioner was not as isolated or as helpless to act as he wishes this court to believe. He was able to file the writ in a timely manner had he chosen to do so."

Suge Knight was arrested more than a decade ago (in January 2015) in relation to a hit-and-run case that led to the death of Terry Carter. Carter, who was the co-founder of Heavyweight Records, was allegedly a friend of Knight.

In the accident, one of the tires of Knight's truck ran over Carter's head as he was pulling off to leave in the wake of an altercation that he had started.

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Suge Knight, who is currently serving time at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, will not be eligible for parole before 2034, as per XXL Magazine.