In the latest in a series of criminal and civil setbacks, rap mogul and felon Marion "Suge" Knight was slapped with $107 million in damages ($45 million in economic, $2 million in noneconomic, and $60 million in punitive damages) in a lawsuit brought by Lydia Harris in Los Angeles County Superior Court, who claimed to have co-founded Death Row Records with Knight in '89. Harris said that when it became clear how lucrative the enterprise would be, Knight "pushed her out" of the business.
Harris — who is married to convicted crack dealer and state prison resident since 1987, Michael "Harrio" Harris — also claimed Knight defamed her. As quoted in the LA Times, "His conduct made it clear that he did not intend to honor his agreement or pay the shares of profit due her," said attorney David Casselman, who represents Harris. "He also publicly insulted her and falsely accused her of promiscuity and incompetence."
Casselman said he plans to collect the judgment by seizing Knight's assets (insert pun here).
In 2003 Knight was ordered to pay $5.5 million to artist managers who accused him of poaching one of their acts, and he also has been imprisoned three times in eight years on assault-related charges. I'll be the feels like punching someone right about now.
Suge may be scum, but that Death Row anthology is a who's who of West Coast gangsta rap, from back when the genre had some originality and bite - he knows talent.
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