In the immortal words of NFL great Dion Sanders, “Must be the money.” There’s plenty of money floating around in the world of entertainment, so if a multi-millionaire just so happens to be a human and make a mistake, there will always be someone there to cash in on their mishap. Some are legitimate cases and some are cases of unadulterated stupidity. The bottom line is the almighty dollar is almost exclusively the solution to all of these problems. While they would never tell you that, we’ll certainly help prove the point. Check out some of the most ridiculous lawsuits filed against rappers.
1. Rick Ross vs. Rick Ross
This is a case of being industry versus being in the streets. In June 2010, Former Correctional Officer William Roberts aka Rick Ross was sued by convicted cocaine kingpin “Freeway” Ricky Ross for copyright infringement in a Cali federal court for using his name to boost his street cred. Initially, the MMG general won the battle, however, the California State case was updated with a motion in Freeway Rick Ross’ favor as to Warner Brothers Records and their use of the name and image Rick Ross in July 2012. The New York Post reported a trial has been set for Los Angeles Superior Court August 27, 2013 of Freeway Rick Ross against Rick Ross and Warner Music Group. Even though it has been revealed that Ricky Rozay was fugazi, the masses are still buying into the fraudulence, which says a lot about the authenticity of music these days.
2. Rosa Parks vs. OutKast
When certain notable personalities don’t have anything else to do, they sue. That’s exactly how this case between civil rights activist Rosa Parks and OutKast came to be, which is still surprising to some that it even made it to the courtroom. In 1999 Parks filed a lawsuit against the ATL rap icons for the use of her name in a song title on the duo’s “Aquemini” album. The alleged disrespect that Parks claimed came from the chorus; “Ah ha, hush that fuss / Everybody move to the back of the bus / Do you want to bump and slump with us / We the type of people make the club get crunk.” Even Johnnie Cochran tried to help Ms. Parks get in the rappers’ pockets, but after three court appearances, a greedy caretaker, and a sensible niece, OutKast settled with Ms. Parks for an undisclosed amount of cash and an agreement to work with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute For Self Development so that the youth may learn more about Parks and her struggle.
3. R. Kelly vs. Jay-Z
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As much as the fans anticipated the “Best Of Both Worlds”album and tour, it was evident that Hov had enough of the media circus brought on by the Chi-Town crooner’s statutory rape allegations. Several no shows and a pepper spray attack on R. Kelly from one of Jigga’s crew members backstage was enough to prompt Kelly to sue Hip-Hop’s most celebrated personality for a whopping $75 mil. Hov shot back at Kellz on Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot (Remix),” where he says, “You’re wasting your time tryin’ to sue S dot/ tell your lawyers take that civil case and drop it like it’s hot.” And his lyrical prophecy came true. According to reports, Jay-Z counter sued but dropped the charges soon after and Mr. Carter shot R. Kelly some hush money, which he used to make the next few hundred episodes of “Trapped In The Closet.”
4. 40 Glocc vs. The Game
The most ungangsta thing that a so-called gangsta can do is call Five-O playing the victim. Well, that’s exactly what the West Coast G-Unit affiliate 40 Glocc did after The Game and his crew caught him without his Glock and blessed him with a couple of good ol’ knuckle sandwiches and posted the footage of the blood gang beat down on YouTube. At the time Glocc filed the suit, he didn’t specify how much he wanted, but now we know. Glocc just filed legal docs demanding a cool $4.54 million. Here’s the breakdown: — $500,000 in pain and suffering — $500,000 in emotional distress — $750,000 in lost earnings — $2 million for punitive damages — $25,000 in medical expenses.
5. Lord Finesse vs. Mac Miller
In the music industry, everything has a price. That’s what Lord Finesse of the legendary Digging In The Crates crew taught Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller after the Mac used a sample from a Lord Finesse track on his 2010 “K.I.D.S.” mixtape. The Golden Era freestyle king hit Miller with an incredible $10 million dollar tab for his use of a sample of “Hip 2 Da Game” made in 1995, which appeared on the “Kool-Aid and Frozen Pizza” track on the mixtape. Even though the downloaded song was free and Miller’s label, Rostrum Records, never profited from the music, Miller and his team still found it necessary to settle the case out of court and hit Finesse off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
6. Federal inmate vs. Kanye West & Kim Kardashian
Sometimes being locked up is nothing more than an opportunity to come up with more elaborate schemes and “the world’s most litigious man” as documented by The Guinness Book of World Records, took advantage of that aspect of prison life like it was an extra tray in the mess hall. Last year, former federal inmate Johnathan Lee Riches sued Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, claiming that Kardashian tried to behead him because he spotted the quirky couple at an Al Qaeda training camp and that they were going to use the proceeds from their respective clothing lines and reality shows to fund Al Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad. Even though these over-the-top accusations made it to the bench, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch threw out the charge nine days after it was filed.
7. C. Delores Tucker vs. 2pac
One of Hip Hop’s most colorful opponents was none other than the late C. Delores Tucker. Everyone from KRS-One to Eminem took shots at the outspoken NAACP board member, but Ms. Tucker and her civil rights crony crew had their sights set on Mr. Tupac Shakur. It’s no secret that ‘Pac called out Tucker several times, but the National Political Congress For Black Women chair refused to wave the white flag even after the slain rapper’s death, filing a $10 million lawsuit against the Shakur estate, claiming that” lewd remarks about her caused her so much stress, that her and her husband have not been able to have sex.” Tucker’s suit, taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, was dismissed, according to judges at various points, largely because she was deemed to be a public figure and therefore must prove that malicious lyrics were written, knowing in advance that they would damage her reputation.
8. Suge Knight vs. Kanye West
Damn, homie.At Death Row you was the man homie. What the hell happened to Suge Knight? Once one of the most feared gangsters in the Hip-Hop industry, Marion “Suge” Knight sued a non-threatening Kanye West in 2005 for being shot and robbed at West’s beach house in Miami during the MTV Music Video Awards. The former Death Row mogul said that Yeezy’s lack of security cost him a $135K diamond earring, but Knight allegedly sued for millions in damages. A Miami judge threw out the lawsuit for lack of evidence, but the professed Piru gangster appealed the case, which finally led to a confidential out of court settlement. The shooter in the case was never identified.
9. Woman vs. Diddy
As the top earning Hip-Hop artist in the history of the art, Diddy is a regular in the courtroom. In 2011, an obviously disturbed Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks attempted to sue the original Bad Boy for a ridiculous $1 trillion, alleging that Diddy aided and abetted in the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks, costing her lost wages. If that rope wasn’t enough, Turks tried to pull a cowboy move, adding that BIG’s mentor tried to cause bodily harm to her and Diddy’s love child, Turks’ 23-year-old son Cornelius Wilson. This case was scheduled for January 31, 2011, but that’s the last that was heard of the trillion-dollar mystery. If she did get paid, we’d never know. Take that, take that.
