What is Tiny Harris' Net Worth?
Tameka Cottle, most recognized by her stage name Tiny Harris, is an American singer and reality TV star who has a net worth of $30 million. That is a combined net worth with her husband since 2010, rapper T.I. They have been together since 2001 and a married since 2010. Our number also includes the $71 million judgment ordered paid to them in September 2024 after a successful copyright infringement case against toy company MGA Entertainment. More on his lawsuit later in this article below.
Tameka Cottle rose to fame with her involvement in the band Xscape, a multi-platinum R&B vocal group. Tameka has writing credits on hit songs such as "No Scrubs" by the legendary band TLC and one of Ed Sheeran's greatest hits, "Shape of You." Not only is Cottle an amazing singer-songwriter, but she has also dabbled in reality TV shows such as "Tiny and Toya" and "T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle," both of which star Tameka's husband, the rapper T.I., and children.
Early Life
Tameka Diane Harris was born on July 14, 1975, in College Park, Georgia. Tameka's mother, Diane Cottle, is a caucasian American, and her father, Charles "Speedy" Pope, is African American. Cottle's father, along with her uncle, Joseph Pope, formed an R&B group named "The Tams," making their greatest chart success in the 1960s.
Earl Gibson III/Getty Images
Career
In 1992, Tameka was attending Tri-Cities Performing Arts High School while also performing with the R&B quartet known as Xscape. Jamie Dupri heard Xscape sing at his birthday celebration in Atlanta, Georgia, and immediately signed them to what was his new record label, "So So Def Recordings." During Cottle's time in the group, she helped create three of the band's platinum albums: "Hummin' Cummin' at 'Cha,'" "Off the Hook," and "Traces of My Lipstick." As part of the group Xscape, she received two "Soul Train Music Awards" for "Best New R&B Album." She also received the "A-Town Music Award" for "Best Duo/Group." Tameka has also sung lead vocals for Xscape for six of their biggest hit singles: "Understanding," "Do You Want To?," "All I Need," "Love's a Funny Thing," "My Little Secret," and "Am I Dreamin'," Besides her contributions to her band, she has also recorded songs for films such as "Bad Boys," "Soul Food," "Love Jones," and "Panther." Xscape broke up in 1998 after the release of their third album, "Traces of My Lipstick."
Despite Xscape parting ways, Cottle's accomplishments did not end there. Tameka teamed up with former Xscape member Kandi Burruss to help write TLC's legendary hit, "No Scrubs." This accomplishment was followed by Cottle and Burruss earning a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Song" in 2000. Cottle and Burruss also possess writing credits for Ed Sheeran's world-famous song "Shape of You."
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Tameka has many other accomplishments, such as being a member of the "American Society of Composers," receiving an "Authors and Publishers" award in the categories R&B and Pop Music for "No Scrubs," along with the "ASCAP Rap" award for her work on the track "No Pigeons" by Sporty Thievz. Cottle has also worked alongside other very successful artists like Bow Wow, T.I., Lil' Kim, and 8Ball & MJG. After a five-year break, Tameka rejoined with sisters LaToucha and Tameka Scott to release another Xscape album entitled "Unchained" while also adding Kiesha Miles to the group. Xscape released the single "What's Up" in 2005.
Cottle has taken part in a project with Kiesha Miles, putting together a musical trio by the name "OMG Girlz." Tameka's daughter, Zonnique, is part of the trio. Cottle, her family, and the OMG Girlz appeared in T.I.'s music video for the song "Hello."
Not only is she famous in the music scene, but Tameka Cottle has also made a name for herself on TV. Cottle had her own reality TV show named "Tina and Toya," starring Lil' Wayne's ex-wife, Antonia "Tonya" Wright. The show made its debut in June 2009.
Cottle returned to the music scene on July 22, 2014, under her new label name "Pretty Hustle," releasing her first solo single, "What the Fuck You Gon Do?" The single reached number 5 on iTunes R&B/Soul charts, becoming number one in those categories in less than 24 hours of its release. Cottle took time away from her Xscape EP Promo to spend time with Heiress, her one-year-old daughter.
(Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Tameka Cottle first started dating rapper Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known by his stage name T.I., in 2001. The couple later became married on July 30, 2010, in Miami Beach, Florida. Tameka and T.I. had their first son, King Harris, on August 25, 2004. They welcomed their second son, Philant Harris, into the world on May 16, 2008. In March 2016, Tameka gave birth to a daughter, Heiress Diana Harris. Sadly, in 2007, due to being six months into a complicated pregnancy, Cottle's first daughter was stillborn. Tameka has an older daughter from a previous relationship with Zonnie "Zeboe" Pullins. Cottle's father, Charles Pope, passed away on July 11, 2013, at the age of 76 after having a strenuous battle with Alzheimer' Disease.
After six years of marriage, Tameka filed for divorce from T.I. in December 2016. But after spending some time with her group Xscape, the couple decided to attempt to heal their marriage. And with that, Cottle stated, "The divorce is off."
Legal Issues
After getting stopped by the police in Los Angeles, Tamera and T.I. were arrested on September 1, 2010. It was reported by the police that there was an odor of burnt marijuana that came from the inside of the vehicle the couple was driving in. The police found that Cottle and her husband were in possession of the drug known as ecstasy. They posted $10,000 bail.
$100 Million OMG Girlz Lawsuit
In 2009, T.I. and wife Tameka "Tiny" Harris co-created a teen pop group called OMG Girlz. One of the members was their daughter Zonnique Pullins. The group released a handful of singles but was mostly known for their distinctive hairstyles and costumes. Those hairstyles and costumes would eventually become the center of a lawsuit filed by T.I. and Tiny against a toy maker called MGA Entertainment and its owner, Isaac Larian. Amazingly, Larian became a billionaire thanks to the Bratz doll empire. MGA is also the creator of a line of dolls called "L.O.L. Surpise! OMG Dolls." The dolls wore urban outfits and had vibrant hairstyles, much like the OMG Girlz members.
T.I. and Tiny thought the similarities were not a coincidence and opted to sue MGA, claiming that the line of dolls infringed on the copyright of OMG Girlz. Their lawsuit sought $100 million in damages.
Below is an exhibit shown in the court case that T.I. and Tiny believed proved OMG Girlz was being copied illegally:
via U.S. District Court
A first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors heard testimony that accused the company of "cultural appropriation," which was supposed to be barred testimony. At the second trial, in July 2023, a jury found that MGA had not violated any copyright or trademark of OMG Girlz. That wasn't the end of the bad news. In addition to NOT winning the $100 million lawsuit, the jury also ordered the couple to pay MGA $6 million to cover its attorney's fees. But the case wasn't over. In September 2023, T.I. and Tiny were granted a retrial, amazingly, after a Supreme Court judgment came down on a different case. In this other case, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did NOT protect a dog toy company from creating a chew toy that looked like a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. At the THIRD trial's conclusion in September 2024, the jury found in favor of T.I. and Tiny, ordering MGA Entertainment to pay a whopping $71 million in damages to the couple, made up of $17.9 million in compensatory damages and $53.6 million in punitive damages.
Atlanta Mansion
In January 2020, T.I. and Tiny paid $3.27 million for a 14,000-square-foot mansion in Atlanta, Georgia. The mansion, which is located in a private gated community, sits along the Chattahoochee River and features a large pool, spa, gym, and outdoor fireplace. Here is a video tour of T.I. and Tiny's Atlanta mansion:
