Suge Knight vs. Kanye in Fla. courtroom battle

MIAMI (AP) — A rap music smackdown looms in a federal courtroom between oft-troubled impresario Marion "Suge" Knight and controversial star Kanye West over a shooting at a star-studded Miami Beach party.

Knight, founder of Death Row Records and promoter of some of rap's biggest acts, was shot in the right leg in August 2005 by a still-unidentified assailant at the ultra-trendy Shore Club. West was hosting the party before the MTV Video Music Awards held that year in Miami.

No one has ever been arrested, and like many other shootings in the rap world, police found few witnesses although the club was packed with partygoers, including celebrities Jessica Alba, Eddie Murphy, The Black Eyed Peas and Paris Hilton. At least six shots were fired, police said.

More than four years later, Knight is claiming in a lawsuit that West and the Shore Club's owners failed to provide security necessary to keep out people with weapons. Knight's attorney, Marc Brumer, said Tuesday that Knight had $200,000 in medical bills from a gunshot that shattered his femur and will seek total damages exceeding more than $1 million.