Al Pereiea v. Nas Lawsuit Starts Over A Picture From 1993

Nas v. Al Pereira lawsuit starts over the artist using Pereira’s photo without permission. Pereira’s saying the photo’s worth is decreasing because so many are using it. After all, its availability is constantly increasing thanks to the internet. According to Radar, this isn’t the first time Pereira fights a legal battle against celebrities because of his work.

The Nas v. Al Pereira battle has the two in court. Pereira is suing Nas for using his 1993 picture without permission.

The picture in legal question. Image source: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.

In 2017, he sued Kendall and Kylie Jenner for using pictures he took. Vikki Tobak, the creator of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, recalls when she discovered the image of a young Nas, Tupac, and Redman. Saying: “We uncovered a photo that’s a very infamous photo of Biggie, Redman, and Tupac together. Also, when we were going through that contact sheet, there was a strip of images of Tupac Shakur and Nas. It was funny because Al told the story of some guy trying to get his photo, who turned out to be Biggie. 

That photo meant a lot to him because it had a friend who ended up passing away a few years after Pereira took the photo, in the photo with him.” It’s 1993, Pereira’s taking a picture of Nas, Redman, and Tupac outside of Club Amazon. The photographer says that that picture Nas is using without Pereira’s permission or licensing of the work. Court documents say that Nas re-uploaded the photo to his Instagram after Pereira registered his copyright for it. 

Radar Magazine specifies the ongoing legal battle between these two parties. Pereira is suing for damages and an injunction for work used without his permission.

Hopefully, this ongoing battle will soon come to an end. Both of these artists know how hard it is to make great art. Maybe this will be the reason that the battle actually leads to both parties coming out with a few battle scars. Ideally, both parties will come out with no battle scars. Realistically, that won’t happen because of the nature of lawsuits. Especially ones that go to federal court.

These are both legends, so maybe that’ll change things.

Written by Tobin Kaplan