Amaru Takes Action Against Korean Girl Group Baby Vox

In the spring of 2004, Tupac’s music became the subject of a dispute in South Korea. The girl group Baby Vox had released their seventh album, and material from Tupac could be heard in the title track “Ecstasy”. According to Amaru Entertainment, the company of Tupac’s mother, there was no permission for this.

The Statement of April 8

On April 8, 2004, Amaru published a statement on Tupac’s official website. The company stated that it was aware of the use of the Tupac material on the new Baby Vox record and was taking decisive action against the group and its production company. The stated goal was to end the unlicensed exploitation of Tupac’s music, his trademarks, and his publicity rights.

The Other Side

Baby Vox denied the allegations. The group stated that they had used the material lawfully, at the suggestion of the US hip-hop company Bungalow Music and their own management company Dr. Music. In Korea, according to the report, the case became a major controversy: A member of the group DJ DOC harshly attacked Baby Vox on the internet, whereupon the group threatened him with a lawsuit if he did not apologize.

The summary comes from the press review of the Asia Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, which relied on the English edition of the newspaper Chosun Ilbo. How the dispute between Amaru and Baby Vox concluded is not evident from these reports.