Rick Ross just has no luck when it comes to picking a name. First the rapper, born William Leonard Roberts II, was sued by notorious yet reformed drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross for usurping his name and his image. While that lawsuit was thrown out of court last year, it now looks as if the spitter's got some similar legal issues brewing over his back-up nickname and 2010 album title, Teflon Don.
As Hip Hop DX reports, a lawsuit filed today (August 30) has another rapper named Teflon Don (born Donald Askey Jr.) alleging that Ross, not to mention DJ Khaled, Universal Music Group, Slip-N-Slide Records, Def Jam Recordings and Maybach Music Group are all guilty of "trademark infringement, common-law trademark rights, trademark delusion, unfair competition, tortious interference and fraud and identity theft," for lifting his moniker.
To make things even more fishy, Askey alleges that he worked with DJ Khaled a few years back and even got a shout-out on Coast 2 Coast Mixtape Vol. 10 track "I Represent": "To my homie Teflon Don, we the best..."
Askey claims that the name snafu has confused his fan base, which he argues is into more positive raps than Ross's drugs and money steez.
"It is almost belittling to me because the music he [Rick Ross] puts out is almost demeaning and the music that I put out is more positive," Askey said in the suit. "We have two different crowds and it is making me lose clientele based on the fact that they think that I am a negative rapper."
While he may have got a break with Khaled in the past, Askey feels he's currently too small to compete with Rick Ross, and the latter's lifting of his title has become another setback in his career.
"I'm building a name, I'm building a brand, and for someone to come with an album and an alias, the name Teflon Don, and they have big budgets to put behind it, it blocks me from progressing," he continued. "I was climbing the ladder and it feels like I went straight downhill and I don't feel like that's fair."
Ross has yet to comment. Whenever this gets cleared up, though, can we expect similar suits over the use of Ricky Rozay and the Bawse?
As Hip Hop DX reports, a lawsuit filed today (August 30) has another rapper named Teflon Don (born Donald Askey Jr.) alleging that Ross, not to mention DJ Khaled, Universal Music Group, Slip-N-Slide Records, Def Jam Recordings and Maybach Music Group are all guilty of "trademark infringement, common-law trademark rights, trademark delusion, unfair competition, tortious interference and fraud and identity theft," for lifting his moniker.
To make things even more fishy, Askey alleges that he worked with DJ Khaled a few years back and even got a shout-out on Coast 2 Coast Mixtape Vol. 10 track "I Represent": "To my homie Teflon Don, we the best..."
Askey claims that the name snafu has confused his fan base, which he argues is into more positive raps than Ross's drugs and money steez.
"It is almost belittling to me because the music he [Rick Ross] puts out is almost demeaning and the music that I put out is more positive," Askey said in the suit. "We have two different crowds and it is making me lose clientele based on the fact that they think that I am a negative rapper."
While he may have got a break with Khaled in the past, Askey feels he's currently too small to compete with Rick Ross, and the latter's lifting of his title has become another setback in his career.
"I'm building a name, I'm building a brand, and for someone to come with an album and an alias, the name Teflon Don, and they have big budgets to put behind it, it blocks me from progressing," he continued. "I was climbing the ladder and it feels like I went straight downhill and I don't feel like that's fair."
Ross has yet to comment. Whenever this gets cleared up, though, can we expect similar suits over the use of Ricky Rozay and the Bawse?
