Madlib is suing former manager Eothen "Egon" Alapatt, accusing the music executive of "rank self-dealing," "engaging in persistent and pervasive mismanagement" and "concealing information from and repeatedly breaching his duties" to the revered producer.
Madlib filed the complaint , viewed by Exclaim!, in a Los Angeles court yesterday (October 31) — four years to the day that MF DOOM, his friend and Madvillain collaborator, passed away.
Alapatt is also being sued by that late artist's widow, Jasmine Dumile Thompson, over alleged theft of the MC's rhyme notebooks.
In the complaint, the producer born Otis Jackson Jr. claims he entrusted Alapatt to establish and manage two business entities — "Madicine Show" for music, and "Rapp Cats" for merchandise — in Madlib's name,
However, the filing states that "A forensic accounting commissioned by Madlib … revealed several accounting irregularities as well as a lack of any backup documentation for, among other things, payments to [Alappat], [codefendant Jeffrey Carlson] and others as 'consulting,' 'commissions,' 'fees' or 'reimbursements' (totaling in the several hundred thousands of dollars), the majority of inbound deposits to the two entities' bank accounts (totaling in the several millions of dollars)."
The complaint alleges that Alapatt "improperly inserted" his Now-Again Records label into business affairs involving Madicine Show.
It's also alleged that Alapatt took "a fee off the top" of all income generated by Madicine Show and distributor Ingrooves, and that the executive "refused to account to Madlib" how he has been compensated.
Alapatt is also accused of "capturing half of Madlib's producer royalties and advances for himself" while locking Madlib out of his Ingrooves, Apple Music, Bandcamp, YouTube and Facebook accounts, as well as the Instagram account for his Quasimodo alter ego.
Madlib is seeking that Madicine Show and Rapp Cats be "wound up and dissolved and that any contractual relationship with those entities...be terminated," per the complaint.
The producer's team is also seeking a jury trial, unspecified damages and "a full and complete accounting of the assets and liabilities of the entities [and] a determination of any unauthorized remuneration."