
Tupac Shakur’s estate sued for $5 million over alleged unauthorised sample
Tupac Shakur‘s estate has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit, alleging one of the late rapper’s songs used an unauthorised sample. The estate of Dr Khallid Abdul Muhammad, a minister and activist who was an essential figure in the Nation of Islam and New Black Panther Party, has claimed a political speech was used without permission.
The suit, filed this week, accuses Tupac’s 1996 track ‘White Man’z World’ of taking an excerpt from a 1993 lecture Muhammad gave at the Black Holocaust Nationhood Conference.
Not only is Tupac’s estate named in the lawsuit, but Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Death Row Records, Universal’s publishing arm and producer Darryl ‘Big D’ Harper are also targeted.
‘White Man’z World’ appears on The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, the Tupac album that was released just weeks after he was shot and killed in Las Vegas in September 1996.
According to AllHipHop, the lawsuit claims Muhammad’s voice gave the song emotional weight and political urgency. They say Tupac’s team never requested a license, gave credit or paid any money to use it and that the sample is still being used commercially today.
“His presence on ‘White Manz World’ reinforces Tupac Shakur’s role as not just an artist, but as a voice for black empowerment and resistance against oppression,” lawyer Malik Z. Shabazz said.
“At a time when hip-hop was a leading force in shaping political discourse among black youth, Dr Khallid’s inclusion gave ‘White Manz World’ an undeniable authenticity, elevating it beyond music into a revolutionary message against racial injustice.”
The complaint seeks to block further exploitation of Muhammad’s voice, attorneys’ fees and infringing materials’ impoundments, threatening to remove the song from streaming platforms.