New court documents reveal that the mother of a rising North Carolina rapper has filed a wrongful death action against Sony Music, alleging that the corporation permitted her son to die of a heroin overdose just four days after his 17th birthday.
Tobias Johnson, also known as "SauxePaxk TB," was discovered unresponsive in a Houston, Texas hotel suite on November 6, 2020 by his manager, who was sharing the room, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Kenyetta Hardy, who is suing Sony Music Entertainment and other firms Records Label, LLC, and No Stress Entertainment LLC, alleges she expressed concern for her son's well-being after seeing photographs of him using drugs and seeming high on social media, according to her Friday filing.
Hardy allegedly advised that her son, whose song "Ballin" became viral on TikTok earlier this year, "take a break and spend some time at home" and asked the label if he "needed assistance."
The suit claims that Hardy was guaranteed by No Stress Entertainment that he would be kept safe and away from narcotics. However, photos shared the night before his death reveal that the record labels "took Tobias out to celebrate his 17th birthday. The images "show him under the influence of the illegal narcotics that were later discovered after his autopsy," according to court documents that contain screenshots of social media photos.
The teenage rapper died as a result of an overdose of opioids and other prescription substances during a two-day "drug binge." His manager at No Stress Entertainment was allegedly sleeping in the same suite at the time. The lawsuit alleges that for two days, the defendants "provided Tobias access to illegal narcotics, saw him take those illegal drugs, and then witnessed those illegal drugs kill him." According to court documents, the drug binge began in Atlanta, Georgia and continued in Houston, Texas on November 5, 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that the rising celebrity had complained of terrible stomach pains at 11 p.m. the night before, or just 12 hours before his death, but no action was taken. According to an autopsy report, Johnson had fentanyl, amphetamine, Xanax, oxycodone, and tramadol in his system, according to the lawsuit.
According to court documents, Hardy says that the labels were contractually bound to act as her son's chaperone under the terms of his contracts, especially since she could not afford to accompany her son on the trip.
Ms. Hardy trusted that defendants' No Stress and Records / Sony's goals were aligned with her own - that Tobias's health, safety, and welfare were the top priority," the court papers charged.
Ms. Hardy trusted that, if nothing else, defendants No Stress and Records / Sony had an interest in protecting their business asset.
The petition argues that the labels failed to keep him safe and away from drugs and in fact "encouraged" his drug usage as part of the "culture."
READ ALSO: Top 5 Jing Bell Ball Performances-Ranked: Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, and More!
