Young Buck goes wild?

The 23-year-old Nashville-based entertainer, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, is seen on a videotape swinging a knife at parolee Jimmy James Johnson, who suffered a "serious stab wound" to the upper body, police said.

Police say that before he was stabbed, Johnson, 26, had thrown punches at Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, touching off the melee that included chair-throwing, fistfights and knife play.

Dr. Dre was punched while waiting to receive a lifetime achievement award at the hip-hop music ceremony attended by about 1,000 people. He was not seriously injured.

According to police, the assailant pretended to be asking for an autograph before attacking the famed producer without provocation.

As rapper/actor Snoop Dogg and Vibe magazine founder/producer Quincy Jones stood watching from the stage, Dre's bodyguards went after the assailant who had punched Young several times, witnesses said.

The taping of the event resumed later and Dre was given his award. The edited show, minus the violence, was broadcast last night on UPN.

Brown fled after the disturbance and was not identified until yesterday. The investigation is continuing and detectives are in the process of trying to identify several other assault suspects, police said.

Brown has been arrested several times for minor offenses in his hometown in Tennessee, police said. He released a CD, "Straight Outta Cashville," in August and was to perform later this week in Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama.

Anyone with more information about the case was asked to call Santa Monica police at (310) 458-8451 or 1-800-78-CRIME. Callers with information that leads to an arrest and conviction are eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.