Icelene Jones, the widow of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, is reportedly suing the Wu-Tang Clan. The lawsuit is over unpaid royalties and breach of contract. Icelene is accusing the Wu-Tang Clan of owing at least $1 million in unpaid royalties to her late husband’s estate.
The lawsuit claims Wu-Tang Clan Productions did not pay royalties to the ODB estate for a decade, from 2011 until July 2021. When they did pay, it was for the amount of $130,000. This was not enough to cover the decade of backpay owed to the iconic rap crew. Supposedly, the estate has repeatedly sought accountings and payments over the last decade. However, no detailed accounting statements have been provided.
The suit cites a 1992 recording agreement, under which ODB was to be paid 50% of net earnings on the publishing of his copyrighted songs. The members were also to share 50% of the net revenue from the audio recordings. The lawsuit also alleges the estate is owed royalties on merchandising and videos. ODB’s estate estimates that the total cost is $1 million of damages, plus interest.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard: One of the Greats
In November 2004, Ol’ Dirty Bastard died of an accidental drug overdose. It was two days from his 36th birthday. He had contributed to three Wu-Tang albums, as well as several solo songs.
In November of 2021, RZA confirmed that there is an ODB documentary in the works. It is unknown how or if this will be affected by the lawsuit. “The documentary was to capture the story as best we can in the reality of it, and then the TV series was to dramatize it,” RZA said at the time. “The third tier of the plan, which I’m in progress of, is an ODB movie biopic. Like the five-year Wu-Tang plan, this was a five-year media plan that I concocted, I meditated on, and I’m striving to live out. So far, it’s working well.”
Written by Justin Acosta
Twitter: @hahalacka
