Boosie Badazz benefited from threatening to sue Rod Wave and other artists for using his lyrics without permission. The outspoken rapper claimed his willingness to pursue legal action changed the way he’s looked at in the music industry.
“What I did was a big step for me,” Boosie said on Instagram Live. “Now, people are respecting me. Now, the industry respecting me as a businessman … People calling me like, ‘Boosie, man, I’m trying to do this.’ Man, let’s do it. I be happy as a m###########.”
Earlier this month, Boosie criticized several artists for sampling his music and repurposing his lyrics without his clearance. He singled out Rod Wave, who used Boosie’s 2010 track “Long Journey” for a new song of the same name.
Rod Wave offered to pay Boosie an undisclosed amount after getting called out on social media. Boosie mentioned it was “too late” to settle now, but he still wanted artists to sample his work – as long as he gets proper compensation.
“I’m working with dudes so they keep wanting to sample my s###,” he said. “N##### usually get 50 percent. I be telling n##### 25 percent. Give me 25, I ain’t tripping. Give me 25, n####, I don’t even want no 50, n####. Put that in your pocket. That s### been coming back-to-back now. They starting to respect me as a businessman, not a pushover.”
Boosie also provided a brief update on his legal battle with his brother TQ and Yung Bleu in the Instagram Live session. The Baton Rouge native told viewers he filed lawsuits in Tennessee and his home state of Louisiana.
“I’m still in court with Bleu and them too,” he said. “I mean I’m suing them in Louisiana court now. Already suing them in Tennessee court … They just was being money hungry. They went behind my back and did a deal without my knowledge.”
Boosie accused his brother and Yung Bleu of forging his signature to facilitate a deal with EMPIRE. He believed they cheated him out of millions of dollars.