News

Suge Knight Declares Bankruptcy

Vultures are circling Marion "Suge" Knight and his Death Row Records, but the burly, football-playin, Crip-reppin’ CEO is staying true to his reputation and not going down without a fight. Instead of a beatdown outside a club, though, this time he’s making an artful dodge in a courtroom.

Knight has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to avoid relinquishing control of his label. In March, he lost a massive $107 million civil court judgment to Lydia Harris, who claims to be a co-founder of Death Row who was cheated out of a 50 percent share in the profitable business. Death Row was once the touchstone for the hip-hop industry, boasting a robust and headline-making roster that included Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, all in their primes.

Knight’s assets were already frozen by the court, and his newest attorney, Laurence Strick, says that his client "has no choice, the way these people have forced his hand.”

Harris’s side, of course, didn’t greet the bankruptcy news cheerfully, and accused Knight of continuing to play games in an attempt to stall payment. Lydia Harris is the former wife of Michael Harris, who claims that he invested $1.5 million to help Death Row get on its feet. Michael Harris is currently imprisoned for drug dealing.

Knight responded with a statement to the hip-hop site AllHipHop.com, referring to the Harrises as a “dark cloud” and saying “I’ve decided that I’m serving Death Row its last meal. I’m setting a new table.”

-- The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.05.06