October 10, 2008

Lil' Kim Sued For $2.5 Million By New Record Label Over Undelivered Album

By Chris Harris (MTV.com)

Rapper Lil' Kim has been sued by the owners of upstart record label Brookland Media, which maintains in court papers that it entered into a $2.5 million contract earlier this year with the raunchy rap diva, who failed to deliver all the recordings required under her contract.

According to The Associated Press, the suit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court. The suit claims that Brookland has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on recordings, equipment and advances on Kim, and that she has refused to record another note unless her contract is renegotiated. Brookland, which was founded by producers Poke and Tone (a.k.a. the Trackmasters, who produced tracks for Jay-Z, Nas, Will Smith and Destiny's Child), claims that it has spent thousands to rebuild Kim's career, and that the label was founded for the specific purpose of issuing her next opus.

The rapper's attorney, Londell McMillan, contends Brookland sued his client "to leverage their own position" in the contract dispute.

Court papers indicate that Kim had recorded just a few tracks for her album early last month, and Brookland would like the court to declare the contract valid, thus preventing Kim from going to another label with the songs. A judge did grant a temporary injunction to that effect, the New York Daily News reports.

The suit further claims Kim has made "outlandish" post-contract demands of the label; one involved securing Wyclef Jean and Akon as producers for her album. According to the Daily News, Brookland is now withholding $200,000 it pledged to pay Atlantic Records, Kim's former label, to spring her from her contract obligations.