No one ever knows when they’ll make history. And for Rodney King, one violent and near fatal evening over 20 years ago thrust him into the halls of American folklore. By no choice of his own, Rodney’s beating at the hands of Los Angeles police office set in motion one of the most infamous revolts in the L.A. Riots. America took notice and with the country in a state of transition, Hip-Hop’s coverage of the riots only intensified the impact.

As we all know by now, King died this morning after being found at the bottom of his swimming pool. Early word says foul play was not involved. Two months ago, King sat down with Dr. Drew to talk about that fateful night and how his life was forever changed and how the topic of racism in America altered itself since then.