Accused Artist And More

Vulture quotes Gate Five’s summons as accusing Beyonce of “a bad faith breach of contract so callous that, on what appeared to be a whim, she destroyed Gate Five’s business and drove 70 people into unemployment, the week before Christmas.” The company refers to Beyonce as Ms. Carter throughout the document, referring to the singer’s marriage to Hip Hop titan Jay-Z, whose birth name is Sean Carter.

Trey Songz and Atlantic Records may find themselves in the courtroom as they were recently sued over the song “Bottoms Up.”

Looks like R&B sensation Trey Songz may end up feeling the wrath of the law. News broke earlier today that the singer and his label Atlantic Records were recently named in an $18 million lawsuit over one of his most popular hit singles “Bottoms Up.”

According to AllHipHop.com, Derrick Price, Doc Mob Records and iHip Hop Music are currently suing Songz, his label and producer Kane Beatz over the Nicki Minaj-featured track. Reports indicate that Doc Mob had hired producer Tony Scales to produce the original copyrighted track for his Doc Mob imprint. The track, which was recorded in Derrick Price’s home studio, eventually ended up in the hands of producer Kane Beatz, who added elements to the song.

The plaintiffs have stated that although Kane Beatz did contribute to the final version of the song, the original producer Tony Scales was not credited to any capacity with its production on Trey Songz’s album Passion, Pain and Pleasure. They also said that Atlantic Records and their artist allegedly ignored a series of cease-and-desist letters that they had sent prior to the suit.

Yet Songz, Kane Beatz and Atlantic Records aren’t the only parties mentioned in the suit. The trio of plaitiffs is also suing Trey Songz’s manager Gee Robertson and Kodak, who used the song in an advertising campaign featuring the popular singer.

Rap star 50 Cent has been hit with a lawsuit claiming he stole the idea for his movie and album Before I Self Destruct was stolen from a book titled The Preacher’s Son-But The Streets Turned Me Into A Gangster.

The lawsuit, which was filed in United States District Court of New Jersey by the book’s author Shadrach Winstead.

Winstead claims he owns the copyright to the book The Preacher’s Son-But The Streets Turned Me Into A Gangster, which was released in 2008.

According to Winstead, 50 Cent stole the concepts for his November 2009 album and accompanying movie Before I Self Destruct, from Winstead’s book.

“The defendant infringed the copyright by publishing and selling an audio visual work (a movie released in DVD format), coupled with an audio recording (“recordings”),” Winstead’s complaint reads. “In many cases, the content and word choice used by Defendants in their work is identical to that used in Plaintiff’s book.”

Winstead’s lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount in damages.

President Bush labeled Kanye’s comments that he “didn’t care about black people” as the lowest point in his presidency in his new memoirs, Decision Points.

Kanye West apologized to the former U.S. President in several recent interviews and Bush has accepted the apology.

President Bush told the AP he appreciated Kanye’s apology.

T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., is serving time in an Forrest City, Arkansas prison, after he and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle were caught with ecstasy on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

According the terms of his probation, T.I. is barred from leaving the United States and must remain within the limits of the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta, Rome, Newnan and Gainesville.

According to TMZ, the rapper is also banned from leaving the state for more than seven consecutive days and he also cannot leave the state for more than seven days in any given month, unless its work related.

The rapper is also banned from driving, cannot test positive for drugs, cannot own or possess any firearms, and he must also take a mandatory drug/alcohol treatment program.

Carlos Moore, author of the 1982 Fela: This b***h of a Life, filed the lawsuit in the United District Court in Manhattan yesterday (November 8th).

Moore claims that in 2007, he was offered $4,000 for the rights to the biography about Fela, but rejected the sum because it was insufficient.

According to the lawsuit, director Jim Lewis and director Bill T. Jones went on to create the Broadway musical Fela! without his knowledge or consent.

“Entire portions were simply copied from Moore’s book and inserted into the script of the musical,” the complaint reads.

One of Fela!’s producers told the New York Times that he was perplexed by the lawsuit, because Moore had participated in public events promoting Fela! which began a run on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in October of 2009.

“Carlos has been incredibly supportive of the show. Several years ago, he saw the Off Broadway show. He was willing to sit and be interviewed by our people, to talk about Fela and Fela’s legacy, and that interview has been on YouTube for a long time, and at his request we have been selling his book in the theater since we opened and at our Web site,” said producer Stephen Handel. “We’re disappointed and somewhat perplexed, and hope at some point we can get this resolved.”

In addition to seeking the $5 million, Moore is attempting to halt all future performances of the Tony Award winning play, which is slated to conclude on Jan 2, 2011.