'Love & Hip Hop' Star Mendeecees Harris Set To Be Released From Prison By End Of Year — Will He Be Back On The Show?
Interesting twist of events!
Instagram There was a time when Love & Hip Hop fans were concerned only about the trials and tribulations of Yandy Smith and her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Smith, who was a part of Violator Management when the acclaimed company was in its prime, couldn't seem to get her man together, and to make a long story short, he ended up in prison. Who is Mendeecees Harris?
There are some people who are, indeed, "about that life," and Mendeecees Harris is one of them. Born in Harlem, New York, Harris came up at a time when musical acts like The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were putting Harlem on the musical map (at least, as far as hip hop is concerned, as we all know Harlem was a musical hotbed before The Diplomats came along). The father of four children, Mendeecees was one of the most popular cast members on the "OG" Love & Hip Hop before he went up on Federal drug trafficking charges.
Let's look at what else we know about Mendeecees Harris.
1. He was sentenced to eight years for his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Mendeecees Harris was convicted of transporting drugs from the Greater New York City area to the Rochester, New York area (which is in an area colloquially known as "upstate"). The outlet reports that his lawyers tried to argue that he played a "minor role" in this drug trafficking (now sirs...) because he didn't actually travel to Rochester to deliver the drugs (now SIRS...). However, the claim was denied.
2. Prior to catching Federal charges, Mendeecees Harris's biggest drama had to do with his baby mamas.
Mo'money, mo'problems. According to Starcasm, Mendeeceees Harris's biggest drama prior to catching his case had to do with his baby mamas. Specifically, the sheer number of them and their connections: Mendeeceees has four children with three women (Yandy being one of them, though he actually married Yandy as if this is something to aspire to). His first baby mama, Samantha, met him when she was 19. They dated for three years and had a child but broke up after Samantha discovered Mendeecees was cheating on her. He met his second baby mama, Erika, in 2003 (she claims) or 2009 (he claims). Erika, however, is his messiest relationship: he got her pregnant after he was official with Yandy and after he employed her as his children's nanny. So, technically, Erika is his third baby mama — if you believe her, they were together but not exclusive since 2003. If you believe him (side-eye), they had a fling in 2009 and from that fling, she got pregnant. Naturally, all the baby mamas are at each other's throats, which is definitely healthy for the children.
3. Life behind bars is tough for poor Mendeecees Harris.
"Well, Harris may be stuck eating prison food and missing “LHHNY,” but he won’t have to do it forever. As previously reported, Harris already spent 15 months in jail over the same charges, so he’ll likely only have to spend seven years behind bars at best with good behavior," said Rolling Out.
Um, yeah. That's why they call it prison, you guys.
4. But it looks like he'll be out early.
BET.com is reporting that Mendeecees Harris will probably get out of prison earlier than expected. The outlet reports that Yandy Smith-Harris, herself, confirmed that he's set to be released from prison by the end of the year.
5. It's not been confirmed, yet, by prison officials.
The Shade Room was the first to post about Mendeecees Harris' alleged early release. However, prison officials haven't confirmed it either way. Check out their post below.
6. Upon his release, Mendeecees Harris will return to Love & Hip Hop.
"It will be interesting to see how much of Mendeecees' release and return to his old life will be captured by L&HH cameras. But fans of the show are surely excited to welcome him back to their screens. The couple was last seen on the show together when Smith told Harris that they were not legally married and that she wanted to "spiritually" marry him. In 2017, she opened up about working on legalizing their union," reported BET.com.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.