I think it is always interesting to dig into the past, and bring up some interesting Hip Hop history that people might not have knowledge of. Majority of Hip Hop listeners know Snoop Dogg; they know Dr. Dre, Tupac, and Suge Knight. If you know all the people I have mentioned above, then you know what ties them together is a record label called- Death Row Records. Although the label is now defunct, it can never be forgotten in the history of Hip Hop because of those great rappers I mentioned, who were at one time or the other on the label.
So, who is Harry O and what does he have to do with all these? Well, the thing is, if it wasn't for Michael 'Harry O' Harris, Death Row might not have been founded, and maybe Snoop, Tupac, and Nate Dogg might not have attained the monumental status they attained while on the label in the mid 90s.
Sometime in 1991, Harry O, David Kenner (Harry O's attorney at the time), and Suge Knight had a meeting where they came up with the idea of starting a music label, and Death Row was birthed with $1.5 million drug money from Harry O. This deal was structured in a way where Harry O's name would not be mentioned as a co-founder, in other not to attract undue attention (as he was already serving 20-life sentence in prison). Dre was made the President of the label, and since Michael 'Harry O' Harris was locked up, his then girlfriend, who he later married, Lydia Harris took his role as top exec at the label. But ofcos, with time, all that got messed up because of greed, and Suge Knight, in cooperation with David Kenner (Harry O's attorney) looked for ways to totally remove Harry O from the picture. They succeeded for a while, till Lydia Harris sued Suge Knight and Death Row records for $107 million in settlements, to which she won in 2005. I don't think she got the settlements, cos Suge filed for bankruptcy shortly after that.
So, who is Harry O? His real name is Michael Harris, and he was a very rich drug dealer, who invested heavily in legitimate businesses (one of which was Death Row Records) in the bid to get out of the drug game, till he got locked up in the early 90s.
So, who is Harry O and what does he have to do with all these? Well, the thing is, if it wasn't for Michael 'Harry O' Harris, Death Row might not have been founded, and maybe Snoop, Tupac, and Nate Dogg might not have attained the monumental status they attained while on the label in the mid 90s.
Sometime in 1991, Harry O, David Kenner (Harry O's attorney at the time), and Suge Knight had a meeting where they came up with the idea of starting a music label, and Death Row was birthed with $1.5 million drug money from Harry O. This deal was structured in a way where Harry O's name would not be mentioned as a co-founder, in other not to attract undue attention (as he was already serving 20-life sentence in prison). Dre was made the President of the label, and since Michael 'Harry O' Harris was locked up, his then girlfriend, who he later married, Lydia Harris took his role as top exec at the label. But ofcos, with time, all that got messed up because of greed, and Suge Knight, in cooperation with David Kenner (Harry O's attorney) looked for ways to totally remove Harry O from the picture. They succeeded for a while, till Lydia Harris sued Suge Knight and Death Row records for $107 million in settlements, to which she won in 2005. I don't think she got the settlements, cos Suge filed for bankruptcy shortly after that.
So, who is Harry O? His real name is Michael Harris, and he was a very rich drug dealer, who invested heavily in legitimate businesses (one of which was Death Row Records) in the bid to get out of the drug game, till he got locked up in the early 90s.
Correction.. Harry O's real name is Michael Harris, not Michael Jackson👌
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the correction. I must have been sleepy when I wrote that part.
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