He witnessed Tupac Shakur's brutal murder in a drive-by shooting in 1996.
And more than two decades after the murder that shocked the world, Suge Knight has weighed in on the popular Tupac conspiracy theory, saying he believes the All Eyez On Me hitmaker could still be alive, according to Daily Mail.
The record producer and co-founder of Death Row Records, 52, made the sensational claims as he spoke to Ice-T and Soledad O'Brien from jail for the Fox special Who Shot Biggie and Tupac?
Tupac Shakur and Marion Suge Knight. Photo / Getty Images
In the clip obtained by celebrity news website TMZ Suge said questions over Tupac's sudden deterioration in hospital made him wonder whether he could still be alive.
He said: "When Pac died . . . if he really did, you know.
"I mean when I left that hospital, me and Pac was laughing and joking. So I don't see how someone can turn from doing well to doing bad."
When asked by the incredulous host if he seriously thought the Ghetto Gospel rapper might still be alive, Suge responded: "I'm gonna tell you, with Pac you never know."
Speculation has been rife over the years that Tupac had faked his own death, with several photos emerging purporting to show the star alive and well.
Suge was caught in the crossfire when Tupac was gunned down in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, aged 25.
The pair, who had earlier attended the Bruce Seldon vs Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand, were stopped at a red light when a "bow-tied" assassin opened fire.
Tupac was shot four times, twice in the chest, once in the arm and once in the thigh.
He died from his wounds six days later from respiratory failure that led to cardiac arrest and his killer was never identified.
Suge is awaiting trial on murder and attempted murder charges for allegedly running his truck into two men at a burger stand, as well as facing charges for criminal threats made against Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray and robbery.
In April he claimed his ex-wife and former Death Row Records security chief Reggie White Jr killed Tupac Shakur, and insisted he was the real target of the 1996 drive-by.
Notorious BIG, a former friend of Tupac's who became involved in a high-profile feud after they fell out, also emerged as a chief suspect in the shooting's aftermath.
In 1995 Tupac claimed Biggie knew of a planned robbery that had resulted in Tupac being shot and losing valuable jewelry.
Suge Knight and his attorney Thaddeus Culpepper appear in court for a pretrial hearing. Photo / Getty Images
Tupac then signed to the West Coast's Death Row records, which was run by feared Compton boss Suge and was in direct competition with Biggie's own Bad Boy records, based in Manhattan.
And three months before his death, Tupac released the track Hit 'Em Up, in which he claimed to have slept with Biggie's then-estranged wife.
But Biggie, who was himself gunned down in a drive-by shooting the following year aged 24, denied shooting Tupac, and claimed he was recording tracks when the hit took place - though those claims have been questioned since.
Another possible suspect, identified in a 2002 Los Angeles Times investigation, was Orlando Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips gang.
It claimed that Shakur, Knight and several of their entourage had beaten up Anderson the same day as the shooting.
That attack was revenge for Anderson and other members of the Southside Crips for robbing a Death Row Records employee earlier in the year.
Anderson, who denied the claims, was killed in a gang shooting in 1998.
Tupac himself reportedly refused to tell the cop who found him after the shooting who his killer was, simply saying "f**k you.'"
