50 Cent’s record label G-Unit says it owns Young Buck’s musical catalog just as a bankruptcy trustee attempts to settle a dispute over music royalties.
Young Buck filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January of 2020 due to accumulating debt to several creditors, including the IRS, his ex-girlfriend, and 50 Cent.
Earlier this year, Young Buck was accused of withholding his royalty statements from ASCAP. The rapper allegedly tried to hide $$24,228.14 in royalties sent to his publishing company, Mouth Full of Ice.
Last month, AllHipHop broke the news that the Trustee of the account managed to reach a settlement with Young Buck over the royalties and agreed to a $515 monthly payment plan with the Nashville, Tennessee rap star.
However, 50 Cent is looking to terminate the settlement agreement between Young Buck and the bankruptcy trustee because the money belongs to G-Unit.
According to 50 Cent, the court should deny the compromise because the song copyrights that are purported to be the property of Young Buck and the bankruptcy estate are the property of G Unit.
50 says Young Buck signed a recording agreement with G-Unit in July 2014 and advanced him $250,000.
Young Buck was supposed to record two albums for the label, but he failed to deliver them, so the two-year period on the deal has yet to start.
Under the terms of the deal Young Buck signed, G-Unit owns the rights to license his music and is supposed to pay him royalties in return for the sale rights to his music.
“Under the clear terms of the Recording Contract, the G-Unit Property belongs to G Unit because it owns all of the works comprising such property and [Young Buck] is only entitled to a percentage of the net proceeds G Unit earns from licensing such works. Therefore, the Motion to Compromise should be denied,” 50 Cent’s lawyer William N. Helou explained.
50 Cent claims the music – and the $24,228.14 in question – belong to G-Unit, and he wants the judge overseeing the case to deny the compromise between Young Buck and the estate.
“Here, the compromise is not fair and equitable because the Trustee’s settlement with [Young Buck] is premised on the incorrect assertion that the G-Unit Property is property of the estate. It is not,” Helou said.
A judge has yet to make a decision.
