The widow of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Icelene Jones, filed a lawsuit with New York Superior Court on Tuesday (February 8), alleging unpaid royalties. According to Variety, the lawsuit claims the RZA-operated Wu-Tang Productions didn’t pay royalties to the ODB estate from 2011 until July 2021.
Although the estate admitted it received some payments from Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. in 2019 and 2020, it apparently wasn’t enough to settle the alleged debt. The complaint points to a 1992 recording agreement, under which Ol’ Dirty Bastard was to be paid 50 percent of net earnings on the publishing of his copyrighted songs, while the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan were to split the other 50 percent.
Now, the ODB estate wants to assure Wu-Tang Clan fans the lawsuit isn’t intended to be malicious. In a statement sent to HipHopDX, the Estate of Ol’ Dirty Bastard claimed Wu-Tang Productions isn’t being transparent with its financial records.
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“Wu-Tang Productions, Inc., owned by Wu-Tang member Robert Diggs (RZA) has willfully refused to compensate or provide accounting records to the Estate of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, despite being contractually obligated,” the statement reads. “The Estate will randomly receive partial checks such as the one sent for $130,000 in July of 2021 from Wu-Tang Productions but without financial records, we have no indication of the exact amount the Estate is still owed.
“It is crucial to understand that ODB’s widow and Administrator of the Estate Icelene Jones has been requesting these financial records for years and has a legal obligation to do so. This is not an attack on Wu-Tang Productions, Inc., but a last legal resort we have had to pursue after being denied and ignored on this matter for over 10 years.”
Ol' Dirty Bastard's Widow Sues Wu-Tang Productions For Over $1M In Unpaid Royalties
Ol’ Dirty Bastard died of an accidental drug overdose in November 2004, just two days before his 36th birthday. In addition to his contributions to the first three Wu-Tang Clan albums, he also made some classic solo songs along the way, including “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Got Your Money” featuring Kelis.
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Jones is seeking royalties from merchandising and videos in addition to damages of at least $1 million, plus interest, attorneys’ fees and costs.
