Afeni Shakur Sues Death Row for $17 Million

Original: “Shakur’s mom sues Death Row Records” · Associated Press, reprinted in the Las Vegas Sun · no byline · April 1997 (often listed as May 20, 1997)

First, Death Row demanded $7.1 million from the estate in advances for cars, houses, jewelry, and production costs, plus 20 percent of Tupac’s earnings over the last 18 months as a management fee. Then his survivors struck back: In April 1997, Afeni Shakur and estate administrator Richard Fischbein sued Death Row Records, label boss Suge Knight, and attorney David Kenner for $17 million in federal court in Los Angeles.

The allegation: The label cheated Tupac out of royalties and billed him for outside expenses-Fischbein spoke of “a pattern of fraud and deception involving millions of dollars.”

A Contract from a Cell and 152 Missing Songs

At its core, the dispute centered on three points: From All Eyez on Me (around five million copies sold), Tupac, by Fischbein’s calculation, had seen less than $1 million and left behind only about $150,000. The handwritten contract Tupac had signed in prison in 1995 was to be declared invalid. And 152 unreleased recordings whose whereabouts were unclear were to be placed under court receivership.

A detail on the side: Afeni Shakur had received a $5 million advance from Interscope after threatening to block The Don Killuminati.

The Lawsuit Dates from April, Not May 1997

The report is often listed under May 20, 1997. However, the lawsuit was filed on Friday, April 18, 1997; the Los Angeles Times reported on April 19, MTV on April 21. The AP report quoting Fischbein “Saturday” therefore dates from April 1997.

The Prelude to Amaru and Death Row’s Decline

The lawsuit was the beginning of a long battle over Tupac’s body of work. That same year, Afeni Shakur founded her own label, Amaru; in November 1997, R U Still Down? was released, featuring songs from his pre-Death Row era. Death Row itself spiraled deeper into crisis and filed for bankruptcy in 2006.