The estate of Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad has launched a trio of federal copyright suits out of the Central District of California, alleging the lecturer's speeches were utilized on seminal songs without credit, authorization, or a single cent of pay.
Music legends, including Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, D'Angelo, and Ice Cube, are at the center of the legal tempest and the corporate record labels that represented them. Dr. Muhammad, a former Nation of Islam spokesman who was an influential voice in the Black empowerment movement, apologized not sorry his way into the history books, words that, according to his estate, set the tone and message for these inspiring songs.
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"These lawsuits are against the carriers for their refusal to pay the insurance claims." "This is not an attack on Public Enemy, Tupac's family or D'Angelo," attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz, who represents the estate, said. "They are, for us, about accountability. The record labels and music conglomerates cashed in on Khalid Muhammad's voice not unlike how they've exploited the voices of Black artists whose songs he appeared in. The vast majority of these artists don't even own the copyright to their own music. They've been exploited too."
The controversy has focused on tracks such as Tupac's 1996 song "White Man'z World" and the soulful, politically charged D'Angelo and The Vanguard's "1000 Deaths. "Public Enemy's incendiary anthem, "Night of the Living Baseheads," is a song that counts a legendary intro and outro among its hallmarks; it may also have to be replaced if the estate has its way.
They are all worth $5 million each, as well as the costs and permanent injunction to block future use of Muhammad's recordings.
The lawsuits allege that Dr. Muhammad's words were powerful expressions of resistance and liberation, which were sampled without clearance and used to add emotional weight and authenticity to these tracks. Yet his name was left off the liner notes, and his family was cut out of the profit.
For the estate, though, this is not just about recovering lost earnings but about legacy and mission. "Proper credit should have gone to Khalid Muhammad on these hit records," Ms. Shabazz added. That money will be used to accomplish his mission through schools, books, academies that teach his training, and documentaries about his life and message."
According to the reports, notices have also been sent to other high-profile musicians, including Ice Cube, Common, and Black Thought, to disclose any agreements they may have made involving Muhammad's voice.
With funding cuts to Black institutions they've seen in recent years, the estate says they're doing it themselves. "Trump defunded African American institutions," Shabazz said. "So, the family are building their version. The industry has swelled on his words for decades, and that age of the exploitation is over." Perhaps the echoes of Dr. Khalid Muhammad's voice helped to form an era. Now, his estate is committed to ensuring that it does not go unnoticed or unpaid.
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