E J PRINC
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n response to Michael “Harry-O” Harris’ claims that he provided the original funding to start Rap-A-Lot Records, the label’s CEO J Prince issued the following statement through his attorney, Warren Fitzgerald, Jr.:
REPLY TO THE GOLDBERG/HARRIS CLOWN SHOW Steve Goldberg has an obvious, callous disregard for the truth. First of all he wants to try a claim for Michael Harris in the press, where he can grandstand and mislead the public with half-truths, misrepresentations and outright lies, rather than bring his claim in a court of law where the real facts can be proven. Apparently Goldberg and/or his client need attention. A brief check with court records will reveal the truth. First, Michael Harris has no judgment against Death Row, as Goldberg keeps claiming. Harris’ ex-wife has a default judgment against Knight and Death Row (meaning Knight just didn’t cooperate) and Goldberg/Harris is trying to get money out of her. For Goldberg to make such a claim as reported is just irresponsible. There was never a trial on the Death Row matter, so nothing was ever proven. Prince was ordered to appear at a deposition by a Houston judge, but felt the order violated his rights. Through his Houston attorney Warren Fitzgerald, Jr. he has filed an appeal of the order and won stay of the deposition until the Court of Appeals finished looking into the matter. In other words, the deposition is off until further notice. Although Mr. Prince has no fear of a deposition, he has given one to Harris already; he is determined to protect himself from legal chicanery and character assassination from Goldberg and Harris. As a matter of fact, Attorney Fitzgerald obtained a ruling from the court that Goldberg/Harris could not question Prince about any alleged business dealings with Knight or Death Row, as that is under the authority of the Bankruptcy Trustee, and Mr. Goldberg knows this. For Goldberg to make the statements about what he’s going to find out about Prince and Knight violates the courts order. If Goldberg and Harris really think they have a claim, after twenty years of doing nothing, they can file a lawsuit, where the facts count, rather than grandstanding and publicity seeking in the media, and misleading the public with half truths and outright lies. The truth is Harris’ claim doesn’t stand a “snowball’s chance in hell” in a court of law. In the meantime, J. Prince has another blockbuster in the making. Keep your ears to the street. J. Prince - “I’ve been dealing with FEDs, Snitches & Rats all my life, conspiring to destroy me & Rap-A-Lot. This is nothing new to me. It’s interesting, you have this Harris guy, a L.A. rat, who’s lonely & desperate because the best thing that ever happened to him, has divorced him and moved back to Houston with all his money. “So the only explanation that I have, for him waking up in prison after 20 years saying that I made an oral agreement for 50% of Rap-A-Lot is he must think that his ex-wife (Lydia) still has a special place in her heart for me.” “And by the way I’m not Suge and Rap-A-Lot ain’t no Death Row, so they can find another ambulance to chase! So I look forward to dealing with his bootleg lawyer, this frivolous lawsuit, and Harris - THE RAT, if and when he gets out! In this exclusive interview with OZONE, J had a few more things to get off his chest: Were you friends with Harry-O before he went to prison? Associates. He was a promoter. He promoted shows and concerts. So why is he coming at you now? Well, right now he’s just looking for an exit. He don’t stand up when he pees no more. He sits when he pees. He’s just looking for an exit from prison? This man is what I call a pathological lyin’ snitch. All of a sudden he woke up after 18 years in prison and claimed that he owned 50% of Rap-A-Lot. The only reason, the only thing that I can think of for a man 26
to wake up after 18 years in the pen and say he owns Rap-A-Lot is that a guy must be mad because he lost the best thing that ever happened to him, which was his wife. His wife took all his money and moved back to Houston. She’s from Houston. His wife moved back to Houston with you? No, she’s not with me. But in the beginning I introduced her to him. What’s your relationship with her? Well, I don’t have one with her. Why do you think she’s the issue then? I think she still has something special in her heart for me, and evidently it’s more so than I think. I think he thinks she still has something special in her heart for me, because that’s the way it started. The man is hallucinating. Has it ever been proven that he did put up the money for Death Row Records? I don’t know what’s been proven. I do know that my boy [Suge Knight] was sued, and [the verdict] was a judgment against him for not showin’ up it court versus someone beating him in court. This judgment was a punishment from some judge for not reacting [to the lawsuit] the way that he felt he should’ve. So what’s the real story of Rap-A-Lot? Were you the sole founder? What’s the story? The world knows [the story]. The world knows I started Rap-A-Lot. I did have a partner at one time that was named Cliff, and you know, I bought him out and kept moving from there. But this rap dude [Harry O], I don’t know. I thought he was a soldier back in the day. When he was in the free world he seemed to be a stand-up guy. But now, his posture has changed. He don’t walk the same. I don’t know, but he must be a man that got raped or something. He’s not the same because he sold his soul. - Words and Photo by Julia Beverly