LL Cool J and Fubu are going
to court.
A lawsuit filed with the
New York County Supreme Court by LL, born James Todd Smith, claims that the
owners failed to adequately compensate him for endorsing the clothing line and
helping sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of clothes.
Fubu was founded in 1992
by CEO Daymond John in Hollis, Queens. John started selling the company’s
first tie-up hats, then a fashion trend popular in hip-hop circles and quickly
realized he was on to something.
John took out a $100,000
loan against his house and started producing the clothing line with partners
Carl Brown, J. Alexander Martin and Keith Perrin.
In 1993, the owners convinced
LL Cool J, who is also from Hollis, to wear the fledgling clothing line.
By 1999 company revenues
had reached over $200 million per-year and the company grossed an estimated
$380 million dollars last year.
The rapper was prominently
featured in the clothing line’s advertisements and frequently wore Fubu
branded clothing.
LL was also featured on
Fubu’s FB Entertainment release, The Good Life, which spawned the hit
“Fatty Girl” the featured LL, Ludacris and Keith Murray.
LL, whose first venture
into the clothing world was with a line in the mid-eighties called Troop, is
also working on a clothing line, James Todd Smith.
In a previous interview
with AllHipHop.com, the legendary rapper said the line is expected to include
button ups, suits, t-shirts, jeans and “classy gear,” that will
be sold in upscale clothing stores.
Fubu representatives were
not available for comment as of press time.
