Undeterred by a previous lawsuit dismissal, Hip-Hop entrepreneur Ronald Bookman is again pursuing legal action against Rap-A-Lot CEO J Prince for an alleged 2007 assault and extortion plot.
In the new lawsuit filed on Monday (January 26), Bookman claims that J Prince, real name James Prince, sought to coerce majority ownership of the plaintiff’s Studio 7303, a Houston-based recording house.
According to Bookman, the dispute was over an alleged 2005 agreement to have Rap-A-Lot member Bun B to collaborate with Bookman’s 7303 recording artist Javon “JV” Daniels.
In addition, the plaintiff alleges that J Prince promised to have Bun record his debut album Trill at Bookman’s studio and split the album’s profits.
Later, Bookman claims Prince reneged and blocked his company from securing a distribution deal with Warner Bros. by refusing to clear the Bun B guest spot.
In April 2007, Bookman first sued J Prince for $10 million dollars, accusing the Rap-A-Lot founder and seven associates of mercilessly assaulting him at a January 2007 contract negotiation meeting.
This meeting was allegedly arranged by Prince to settle their business disagreements. In that lawsuit, Bookman claimed to have suffered head trauma, a broken nose, and a damaged eye.
Last June, prosecutors threw out criminal charges against J Prince after a preliminary investigation damaged Bookman’s credibility.
“I guess this a new season where drug dealing rats and parasite lawyers are out to extort me,” Prince stated at the time of the case dismissal. “If anyone with good sense would pull this guy Ronnie Bookman’s record, they would see how bad his credibility stinks.”
Under the new lawsuit, J Prince faces charges of breach of contract, battery, unfair competition, conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and exemplary damages.
At press time, the Rap-A-Lot founder could not be reached for comment.