He claims he’s lost nearly half his catalog.
Public Enemy legend Chuck D is fighting the powers that be. The rapper is taking his record label to court in an effort to both regain control his music catalog and in what he says was a fraudulent attempt to scheme him out cash. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Chuck D, real name Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, has filed a lawsuit against his label and has accused them cheating him out over one million dollars.
Ridenhour reportedly inked a deal with Reach Global Music and Terrodome Music Publishing back in 2001, however, Ridenhour wasn’t aware any alleged shady business dealings until early this year. TMZ reports that Ridenhour believes his label knew he wasn’t business savvy so for 18 years they’ve been secretly swindling him. The documents state that Ridenhour claims he’s lost 42% his catalog and when he looked over important paperwork, he found that the label created fake copyright registrations. The political activist also says there were deceptive transactions made in an effort to hide money from him.
The “Don’t Believe the Hype” rapper hopes that the court will rule in his favor and award him a one million dollar judgments as well as give him the rights to his creative material.