Mo3 Estate Gets Huge Win In Battle Over Rapper’s Music

Mo3 secured a posthumous legal victory in Dallas after a federal jury ruled that his estate holds full rights to his unreleased vocal recordings, thereby ending a dispute with his former sound engineer over control of the late rapper’s music catalog.

The verdict found Ray G. Bollin Jr. liable for copyright infringement, conversion, tortious interference, unauthorized use of name and likeness, and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

According to the Dallas Morning News, The jury awarded Mo3’s estate $5,000 in damages—$2,500 for the DMCA violation and $2,500 for the unauthorized use of his image and name.

The lawsuit, filed in August 2023, accused Bollin of refusing to return unreleased music files following Mo3’s death in a targeted shooting on Interstate 35 in Dallas in November 2020.

The estate claimed Bollin withheld the recordings and attempted to exploit them without permission, prompting the legal action.

Jurors needed just two hours to reach a unanimous decision, affirming the estate’s exclusive control over the late rapper’s vocal work. The case adds another layer to the legal fallout surrounding Mo3’s murder, which authorities have linked to a murder-for-hire scheme.

Dallas rapper Yella Beezy has been charged in connection with the killing.

The ruling also highlights broader concerns in the music industry about the handling of intellectual property after an artist’s death.

Similar disputes have surfaced in other high-profile cases, including those involving Prince’s estate, as well as the estates of DMX and Nipsey Hussle.