Lil Wayne has been embroiled in legal troubles since the start of his career. From his 2007 arrest for possession of a controlled substance to the civil lawsuit brought against him by The Rolling Stones in 2008, Lil Wayne seems to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to the law. Last year, in one of the most talked about cases of 2015, Lil Wayne sued Cash Money Records and Birdman for $51 million. And now, it looks like Lil Wayne is kicking off 2016 with another lawsuit. This time with Universal Music Group in his crosshairs.
The rapper’s lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against Universal on Monday, claiming that Universal failed to shell out appropriate funds for Wayne discovering and “nurturing” artists like Drake, Tyga and Nicki Minaj. While Tyga has had his own share of financial woes, both Drake and Nicki Minaj have blown up to epic proportions in the music industry, generating millions of dollars through their albums, appearances and tours. According to Lil Wayne, Universal redirected tens of millions of dollars that should’ve gone to the rapper back into the company.
“With Universal’s knowledge of Lil Wayne’s rights to partial ownership and profits from those artists, Universal and Cash Money entered into a series of agreements which, among other things, diverted Lil Wayne’s substantial profits to repay debts of Cash Money,” states the complaint. “As a result, 100% of the profits that should have been paid to Lil Wayne as a result of his ownership of Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga records have been seized by Universal to repay debts that were neither incurred by nor were the obligations of Lil Wayne.”
Universal Music Group has yet to issue a formal statement regarding the issue though a spokesman for the company did say, “It should be no surprise that we learned of the lawyer’s complaint through the news media. We don’t intend to dignify this with further public comment except to say that we will vigorously contest it and that the merits of our case will carry the day.”
Only time will tell if Lil Wayne has merit behind this legal case though large corporations and labels in the music industry have been notoriously known in the past for shady legal dealings. Lil Wayne’s lawsuit against Birdman is currently still pending in Louisiana’s court system. Check back in with KBX to get any updates on this lawsuit.