Rap label in receivership threat

Mr Knight, owner of Death Row Records, was due in court in the US on Saturday to answer questions about his assets.

He had already missed several hearings in a legal battle since he lost a $107m (£61.5m) judgment last year.

Last month a judge ordered the record company into receivership if Mr Knight did not attend the latest hearing.

Frozen assets

Death Row Records helped to launch the careers of rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.

In March 2005, Mr Knight was ordered to pay former associate Lydia Harris $107m after she claimed she helped co-found the label in 1989.

Her former husband, Michael Harris, an imprisoned drug dealer, later claimed he put up $1.5m (£863,200) to help start the record label and argued he was entitled to take half of the $107m as a result.

In August 2005, Mr Knight's assets were frozen and all of the parties involved have been fighting in court ever since.

Mr Harris' lawyer, Steve Goldberg, said a court-appointed "receiver" would now take control of all assets of Death Row Records, including a music library containing the records of such artists as Shakur, Snoop Dog and Dr Dre.

Music auction

Lawyers for the Harris' also said they would ask that Mr Knight be held in contempt and jailed until he participates in the hearing to disclose his assets.

"He's had his last chance as far as we're concerned," Mr Goldberg said.

A further hearing was set for Tuesday to finalise the receivership and address the contempt request.

Mr Goldberg said he planned to ask the receiver to take ownership of the music library and auction it off.

When asked for a comment, Mr Knight's lawyer, Dermot Givens - who also did not attend the hearing - said: "We try our cases in the court and not in the press."

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