Inmate Harry-O: 'I Co-Founded Death Row'

Original: “Inmate claims he helped start Death Row Records” · Associated Press, reprinted in the Las Vegas Sun · no byline · September 1, 1997

An inmate claims that half of Death Row Records belongs to him. On September 1, 1997, the Associated Press picked up a report from the Los Angeles Times and thrust a previously little-known name into the spotlight: Michael “Harry-O” Harris. The former Los Angeles drug kingpin had been serving a 28-year prison sentence since 1987 for crack dealing, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

$1.5 Million From a Cell

Harris described the label’s inception like this: In the fall of 1991, he says, he introduced his lawyer, David Kenner, to Suge Knight. He claims to have provided $1.5 million in startup capital for half of a company called GF Entertainment, which was to include the Death Row label. Knight allegedly visited him in prison nearly two dozen times. Then, he says, Knight and Dr. Dre signed the contract with Interscope without him, and he never saw an accounting. He demanded half of the income for his wife, Lydia.

“I am not a rat”: Knight Denies the Allegations

Knight denies this. Death Row was built with money from contracts with Sony, Interscope, and Time Warner, he says. Harris is a “snitch” who wants to shorten his sentence, he adds. Harris fired back: “I am not a rat.” Kenner invoked attorney-client privilege. According to the paper, Harris had already testified before a grand jury investigating the label’s alleged ties to gangs, drugs, and money laundering.

A $107 Million Judgment Drives Death Row Into Bankruptcy

Harris’s version largely prevailed over the years. In 2005, his wife, Lydia Harris, won a judgment of about $107 million against Knight and Death Row. In April 2006, the label and Knight filed for bankruptcy. In 2009, the rights were auctioned off for $18 million, and in 2022, Snoop Dogg bought Death Row.

Pardon After More Than 30 Years

Harris walked free after more than 30 years. On January 20, 2021, President Trump commuted his remaining federal sentence, and a full pardon followed on May 28, 2025. Today he works for the new Death Row under Snoop Dogg.

Murky Ownership Affects Tupac’s Estate

For Tupac, the story is more than a footnote: It explains why his estate had to fight for years over accountings and master tapes. The label that bailed him out of prison in 1995 had murky ownership from the very start.