The wife of notorious
Los Angeles drug trafficker, Michael "Harry O" Harris, is continuing
her legal bouts with Death Row Records in court to obtain what she calls rightful
half ownership of the label.
Lydia Harris, otherwise
known as "Lady Boss," is seeking $100 million in damages and 50 percent
ownership of Death Row Records, now known simply as The Row.
The Houston native
alleges that she hasn’t received any profits since her husband Harry O played
a significant role in formulating the rap label.
Death Row is contesting
a default judgment that went in Harris’ favor after the label’s co-founder Marion
"Suge" Knight failed to show up at previous court dates, according
to Harris.
Harris is also
planning to file a lawsuit against Xenon Pictures, claiming that she never received
compensation from the company for the documentary "Welcome to Death Row,"
which chronicled the history and evolution of the famed record company.
Harris says she
was in a contractual agreement with Xenon that made her partner in the documentary.
Harris claims she
has never received a portion of the earnings from the 2001 documentary, which
she says has sold over 100,000 copies and counting.
"I think they
saw what happened with the Death Row situation and they underestimated me,"
Harris told AllHipHop.com of the situation. "This has been going on for
three or four years now, and I haven’t seen any of the profits."
"This is the
first of a threat of legal action that we are aware of," COO of Xenon Pictures
Steve Housden told AllHipHop.com. "We worked hard on that documentary and
the accusations are completely baseless."
Since the origins
of Death Row, Lydia Harris has pushed for half ownership of the label that helped
rebirth Tupac Shakur’s career after the slain rapper’s imprisonment.
Harris claims that
her husband Harry O helped create Death Row along with Suge Knight and his lawyer
David Kenner, but that Harry O has been excluded from his due share of proceeds.
Lydia stopped communicating
with Kenner and Suge after she said they were engaging in shady business practices.
Instead, the businesswoman
formed her own, now defunct, label called Lifestyle Records under Interscope.
Harris currently heads her own
film production company, Dream On Productions.
The film company
plans to release "Married to the Game" in early 2005, based on Harris’
experiences in the industry as the bride of a legendary drug dealer.
"I wanna help
young kids and sisters, tell them that they don’t have to stand for this when
Snoop [Dogg] and other rappers are calling them bi**hes and hoes," said
Harris. "Let’s teach them they can have some self respect and they don’t
have to put up with that kind of disrespect."
Lydia’s husband
Harry O is currently serving a 28 year to life term in a California state prison
for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder.
Representatives
for Death Row were not available for comment on this story.
