R&B singer Lil’
Mo intends to sue Ja Rule, Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam for $15 million dollars
in unpaid royalties stemming from the 2001 hit song "Put It On Me."
The song was a huge hit in the summer of 2001 and helped Ja
and company become household names.
"That [song] helped boost his career." Lil’ Mo told
Allhiphop.com. "That was a huge song. I helped make him an icon – so they
have to pay."
Mo claims that she owned 10 percent of the song’s publishing
and has sought a lawyer to attempt to acquire the money owed her.
"I had to search for the right lawyer that would take the
case so they wouldn’t have any ties to Murder Inc. or Def Jam or anything to
do with that song," Lil’ Mo revealed. "I told the lawyer ‘it’s
not about the money, it’s about the principle.’ Technically, off of that I could
have retired or I could have gotten a crazy publishing deal."
According to Mo, letters of intent to sue have been sent to
Murder Inc. and Def Jam.
“They never took any of my calls,” Lil’ Mo
said. “I wasn’t even going to do that, but I believe in giving people
that common courtesy like ‘this is what is going down.’"
Mo states that while Ja and company where getting paid upwards
of $50,000 a show, she was performing for free.
"This is beyond personal, this is business," Mo told
Allhiphop.com. "This is my livelihood as an artist. We don’t make money
until the label makes money so as a songwriter that was a part of my career
that I was supposed to receive a substantial amount of money."
Representatives
for Murder Inc. and Def Jam didn’t return requests for comment.
