With All Dame Dash’s Drama, Why Use Harlem Holiday’s Work Without Credit?

Damon “Dame” Dash has never lacked material for a powerful story. His rise as a co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, fractured business relationships, lawsuits, multimillion-dollar judgments and financial collapse could fill an entire documentary franchise.

In September 2025, Dash filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, reporting more than $25 million in liabilities and only $4,350 in assets. A bankruptcy trustee later proposed selling a package that reportedly includes Dash’s life-story rights and unreleased footage to help repay creditors.

The irony is impossible to overlook: As bankruptcy proceedings could determine who controls and profits from Dash’s life story, Harlem author Harlem Holiday is asking who respected her rights as a writer, researcher and publisher.

The Harlem Plug Appears on BET

Harlem Holiday—the pen name of author and publisher Tiffany Simone Fulton—wrote The Harlem Plug: The Richard “Fritz” Simmons Story. The nonfiction book was created through extensive research, interviews, historical records and personal family photographs.

Harlem Holiday says the cover of The Harlem Plug and personal photographs connected to Richard “Fritz” Simmons appeared in BET’s OG Stories: My Paid in Full, Season 1, Episode 1, featuring Michelle Smalls, the “Queen of Harlem.”

She says no one contacted her before using the material. She received no permission request, payment, attribution or acknowledgment.

This is not an objection to Michelle Smalls telling her story, nor is it a claim of ownership over Harlem’s collective history. It is a direct question about recognizable creative material:

Who obtained it, who placed it in the production and why wasn’t the source credited?

There Was No Shortage of Material

Dash has decades of his own experiences to explore: the Roc-A-Fella legacy, public business disputes, battles over films and copyrights, tax obligations, judgments, bankruptcy proceedings and the potential sale of his own life-story rights.

There is no shortage of drama. There is no shortage of headlines. There is no shortage of Dame Dash material.

So why use Harlem Holiday’s work without asking?

Why display her book cover without crediting the author? Why use personal photographs without contacting the people who supplied them? Why promote a franchise about ownership and being “paid in full” while the independent creator whose work appeared on-screen says she was neither paid nor credited?

These questions are not only for Dash. They should also be answered by BET and the producers, researchers and editors responsible for reviewing and clearing material used in the episode.

Credit Is More Than a Courtesy

For an independent Black woman author, attribution is not ceremonial. Credit affects book sales, visibility, professional opportunities and the historical record.

When an author’s work appears on a national platform without attribution, viewers may assume the material originated with the production. The person who invested years preserving the story can disappear from the very history she helped document.

That is why credit matters.

Harlem Holiday’s body of work includes The Harlem Plug, Fallen Petals and Harlem’s Tale of Hope, along with her growing children’s holiday series. Her books move between nonfiction, adult fiction and children’s literature, but they share a commitment to preserving Harlem’s stories, confronting difficult truths and creating hope.

A Demand for Accountability

Harlem Holiday is seeking acknowledgment, an explanation of how her material entered the production, proper credit and a meaningful response from Dame Dash, BET and the producers of OG Stories.

The issue extends beyond one author or television episode. It speaks to a culture in which independent creators are expected to accept “exposure” while larger platforms benefit from their labor.

Ownership cannot be defended selectively. A person cannot demand control over his own name, image, story and legacy while treating another creator’s work as though it has no owner.

Dame Dash has more than enough material in his own life to tell compelling stories.

Harlem Holiday’s question remains:

With all that drama, why use my work without permission, payment or credit?

Discover Harlem Holiday’s complete collection on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold. Readers may also request or borrow her books through their local public libraries.