Houston rapper Lil Flip is locked in a legal war with his former record label, Suckafree Records, and tensions are bubbling over due to the rapper’s soda business.
Suckafree’s CEO, Duane “Hump” Hobbs, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Exotic Pop OG, the soda brand owned by rapper Lil Flip.
The lawsuit alleges that Exotic Pop has been using the Leprechaun artwork on its beverage bottles and other merchandise without acquiring proper authorization.
The complaint, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, claims that Suckafree Records holds the copyright for Leprechaun, which debuted in January 2000.
The label asserts ownership of the album’s production, music, lyrics, and artwork.
The suit alleges that the beverage company created and sold merchandise featuring the album cover’s likeness and illegally distributed songs from Leprechaun through third parties.
Additionally, the record label contends that Lil Flip and Exotic Pop have been using the internet to sell their products, which include bottled drinks, cereals, and other consumables.
Suckafree Records suspects that these unauthorized uses of its copyrighted material may also be occurring internationally.
One of the primary allegations is that Exotic Pop’s products use QR codes that reportedly direct consumers to purchase songs from the Leprechaun album through third-party websites.
Suckafree Records estimates it has suffered $2 million in damages due to these alleged violations.
In an interview with Houston rap legend Willie D of The Geto Boys, Lil Flip addressed the accusations before the lawsuit was formally filed.
“The most important thing is the stealing part cause everybody knows me man. I don’t steal… for you to get on here and say I’m stealing which is defamation of character for starters,” Lil Flip remarked.
Lil Flip also brought up his own grievances concerning royalties and payments.
“You ain’t been paying me for the Leprechaun album… you still selling hard copies of the HSC… I have never got a check from him ever,” he claimed. “He collected some money from Sony like $100,000 or $200,000 which was for the recording budget of my album… he took some money from my budget for the album and I never got none of it.”
Lil Flip emphasized his ownership of various trademarks, including his name, Clover G Records, Hustler Stacking Ends (HSE), and even Suckafree.
Suckafree Records is seeking a court injunction to halt Exotic Pop’s alleged infringements, along with all profits made by Exotic Pop from the misuse of the album artwork and songs and an assessment of losses suffered by Suckafree.