‘The World is mine’ | Damion 'World' Hardy: Rise and Fall

Damion Hardy was born on November 3, 1974 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. He attended Queen of All Saints Elementary School in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood.

Hardy reportedly acquired the nickname "World" from peers who compared him to professional basketball player Lloyd Bernard Free, who legally changed his name to World B. Free in 1981. His older brother, Myron, garnered the nickname "Wise".

Both Damion and Myron attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, a Roman Catholic university-preparatory school in Brooklyn. Other alumni of the school include: former NBA All-Star and Rookie of the Year Mark Jackson; comedic actor Douglas "Doug E. Doug" Bourne; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; comedian Sherrod Small and rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, both of whom attended Bishop Loughlin at the same time as Damion.

In 1991, Damion and Myron formed the Cash Money Brothers drug trafficking organization. The Cash Money Brothers included members: Aaron "E-Bay" Granton (also known as Eric Moore), Dwayne "Thor" Myers, Kenwaye "Stro" Jones, Robert "Troub" Footman, Carl "Big Jim" Davis, James "Jimbo" Farrior, Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian, Lamont "Sambo" Johnson, Djebara "DJ" McMillian, Isheen "Sha" Campbell, Eric Moore, Shelby "Moo" Henderson, Allen "Boo" Bryant and Abubakr Raheem.

The group proceeded to wrestle control of crack-cocaine sales in the Bedford-Stuyvesant's Lafayette Gardens housing project away from more established drug traffickers. After seizing control, the Hardys used the housing project, comprised of approximately 2,680 residents and seven buildings, each at least 13-stories tall, as a base of operations.

In 1993, Damion was convicted on weapons charges and witness tampering and given a sentence of 2 to 4 years in state prison. He was accused of both shooting at narcotics officers and ordering the shooting of a state witness against another CMB member. He was released from prison in April of 1996.

In 1998, Damion was ejected from a Brooklyn roller skating rink by bouncer Michael Colon. In retaliation for the perceived slight, he had Colon murdered by another CMB member.

On June 12, 1999, Myron was shot to death in Lafayette Gardens over drug territory by Rumel "Nino" Davis, the nephew of Ivery "Peanut" Davis, who led the rival Davis drug-trafficking organization. The shooting prompted Damion, who was in prison at the time of Myron's murder, to initiate a killing spree in retaliation for his brother's death. On June 15, CMB member Dwayne "Thor" Myers murdered Jerrod "Kojak" Mackens in the vestibule of the same building in which Myron Hardy was killed, at 456 Lafayette Street. Mackens, a member of the Davis organization, was suspected of having supplied Rumel Davis with the gun used to kill Hardy. Rumel fled New York and wasn't apprehended until 2001 when he was arrested in North Carolina. Following his extradition back to New York, he was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison.

On June 10, 2000, Darryl "Hommo" Baum ("Hommo", short for "Homicide") was shot to death after allegedly (extorting) pressuring Cash Money Brothers member Edward "Taz" Cooke to sell drugs for him. According to police, CMB member Eric "Ebay" Moore (Granton) shot Baum once in the back of the head on the corner of Quincy Street and Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn around 1:40 AM in front of several witnesses familiar with Baum and was driven away by fellow-CMB member Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian. According to Baum's younger sister, Zakia, he was lured to the corner by a female acquaintance.

He was rushed to nearby Kings County Hospital where he died 10 hours later. Baum's longtime friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, paid for his funeral and burial expenses. Baum had been released from prison six months earlier, on December 31, after serving 13 years and quickly established a business relationship with Ivery Davis. Just two weeks prior to his death, on May 25, Baum was the alleged triggerman behind the attempted murder of rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, in which the future chart-topper was shot nine times.

During Queens drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff's 2007 federal murder and racketeering trial, prosecutors alleged that McGriff had hired Baum to kill Jackson. Jackson himself named Baum as his would-be murderer in his 2003 song, "Many Men". Baum had been in the employ of his childhood friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, as a bodyguard, and according to court testimony, Tyson put a $50,000 hit out on Hardy following his friend's murder.

According to testimony, Hardy ordered that Tyson be murdered when he learned of the contract.


----



"Tokyo Music Walker - Way Home" is under a Creative Commons (CC-BY) license.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3lL...
Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: https://bit.ly/way-home-song