Released as the lead single for Tupac‘s third studio album, Me Against the World (1995), “Dear Mama” went on to become one of the late rapper’s most instantly recognizable songs. With impassioned lyrics dedicated to his mother, who he had a complicated relationship with for much of his life, Tupac was able to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song and even earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance. Now, though, the song has caused a bit of controversy among its producers.
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On Tuesday (November 21), Music Business Worldwide reported that one of the producers of “Dear Mama,” Terence Thomas, filed a lawsuit against co-producer Tony D. Pizarro, Interscope Records, and Universal Music Group. Accusing the defendants of copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, and theft of intellectual property, Thomas (whose producer name was Master Tee) claimed he was only receiving royalty payments for co-production when he was also a co-writer and co-publisher of the song.
“Master Tee did not until very recently appreciate that the royalties which he was deriving from BMI were actually much less than he should have been receiving had his creative work been credited as it should have been from the outset,” the lawsuit stated.
Currently, Thomas works as a bus driver and is no longer a part of the music industry. Because of this, he believes the defendants felt they could “conspire” against him and take advantage of his naivety. However, he presented proof that he contributed to the song more than the defendants have led on. This includes hand-written credits by Tupac himself, which TMZ reported were put on sale as memorabilia in 2017.
Along with seeking damages in the form of appropriate royalty payments and receiving what he was previously owed, Thomas also wants to be properly credited on the song as a co-writer and co-publisher, as well as having the court place an injunction on the song so the defendants cannot earn royalties on it until the case is resolved.
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind Tupac’s Ominous Hit “Hail Mary”]
Along with Pizarro, Interscope Records, and Universal Music Group, Thomas also listed Hulu, FX Networks, and Disney as defendants in the suit, considering their original series Dear Mama, which aired this year and documents the relationship between the rapper and his mother Afeni Shakur, takes its name from the song. Earlier this month, Dear Mama was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Music Film category.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
