DJ Mustard Accused Of Stealing Songs In New Lawsuit

Published: Monday 23rd Mar 2015 by David

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Did DJ Mustard produce a number of the hits he’s taken credit for?

Well, let a former friend of the artist tell it and the answer is simply…no.

A surprising story below…

After joining the singer Tinashe to celebrate the success of their hit single ‘2 On’, Mustard learned than an old friend, Mike Free, had filed a lawsuit against in the December of 2014.

His problem? The credit he claims Mustard took for eight songs he claims to have co-produced, accusing the ‘Rack City’ architect of failing to commit to an oral agreement they came to before his meteoric rise to fame.

Mike’s story begins in 2011. Back then, he was a high school student who began producing tracks he says Mustard took a liking to.

In an interview with ‘Complex’ and the aforementioned lawsuit, he says the producer claimed to place the tracks with artists he was beginning to work with, promising to make sure the teen was given credit for his work.

Alas, Mike now says things took a turn for the worst when Mustard placed the cuts but failed to acknowledge the part he played in creating them, going on to claim that he had produced them himself.

A year would pass before the pair would reach a new agreement in which Mike stipulated his share of fees, advances and royalties from bops he built for the ‘L.A Love’ producer.

Unfortunately, Mike now says Mustard breached that contract and terminated it via text message, and now claims that he is responsible for 20 (and not eight) of the songs Mustard has sold to artists as his own.

Mike’s lawyer,intellectual property attorney Robert Allen, shares:

Mike is a real class guy. All he’s looking for is to be properly credited and paid for the things that he did. He doesn’t have any ill will toward Mustard. No bad blood. It’s just about the work that he did in creating these songs, and the masters, and being properly credited and compensated.

Billboard adds:

Though Allen does not have an estimate for how much Free is owed in total, he claims a percentage that roughly breaks down to 25 percent of musical compositions he co-created with Mustard and 20 percent of songs containing a sample (such as “24 Hours,” which samples YG’s “I’m Good”). “My Nigga” and “Show Me,” both of which Free asserts he wrote the whole musical composition, entitling him to the entire share attributable to the creator of the music, minus the samples (in this case, 40 percent).

Click here to read telling documents surrounding the case.

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  1. 내가 제일 잘 나가 | Matt Toddy March 23, 2015

    #BeyInspired

    • Keri Qween March 23, 2015

      Kiiii you beat me to it

      • 내가 제일 잘 나가 | Matt Toddy March 23, 2015

        Haha remember when your fave got braids and then someone got inspired?

      • MisdamenorFan March 23, 2015

        Totally unrelated but Keri sung her a** off on that song The One I Love off SV2. It just randomly popped up in my playlist at work.

    • Keri Qween March 23, 2015

      Yasss Matt I remember kiii

    • Alex March 23, 2015

      I see the QUEEN stays on your mind! #Carryon

    • @rihicon March 23, 2015

      kii but your face is #PlasticSurgeonInspired

      • 내가 제일 잘 나가 | Matt Toddy March 23, 2015

        Said the #PovertyModel

  2. #JACKIE March 23, 2015

    Kii I was gonna say sounds like Beyoncé

  3. 내가 제일 잘 나가 | Matt Toddy March 23, 2015

    Remember when michael jackson became white?
    #BeyInspired

    • @rihicon March 23, 2015

      remember when you got your face changed from white to asian? #plasticsurgeoninspired

      • FutureCIARA March 23, 2015

        DEATH!!!!!

  4. metzo March 23, 2015

    Yass. #BeyInspired

  5. Beygency March 23, 2015

    #BeyInspired

  6. 7 March 23, 2015

    Lol I just looove when other artists get sued for stealing songs. It just invalidates what the haters say about Bey stealing samples.
    Yup 🙂 it just comes to show that nobody in the music Biz is original. Not Bey, Not Rih, not Ciara not Pharrel, not Robin Thicke, Not Madonna. They all “borrow” from others. And it’s been going on for years! #CarryOn #BeyInspired

    • Lake Erie March 23, 2015

      Yea, in the day in age / generation you’re probably right.

  7. whenitcomestoBey March 23, 2015

    Hahaaa! #BeyInspired

  8. vee March 23, 2015

    #BeyInspired

  9. Liam March 23, 2015

    lol @ this #beyinspired crap…she ain’t the first to do it and she ain’t the last! but what does this have to with her? anyways that guy Mike seems to be pretty young from what i read and he was taken advantage of by Mustard….the music industry is a “dog eat dog” world people would cut each other throat to get on top smh

  10. TheElusiveLamb March 23, 2015

    If this is the case Then Mike needs a cut of every Mustard song, bc all of his songs sound EXACTLY alike.

  11. Kyle March 23, 2015

    Yasss at the two pressed Titanics racing in here to throw so wack shade after getting scalped in the Rihfund post!

  12. Alisha March 23, 2015

    Omg after while they going to make sampling illegal I wonder how many producer will come up if they did that the music industry is no joke but also ppl always blame the artist the producer the one make even though they sang on it they find any way to make money even if they stole u know they ain’t going to tell the artist then that make the artist look bad as well

  13. Room319 March 23, 2015

    Speaking from personal experience… It’s a fine line.

    However, I’m pretty sure 8 songs with the same 3 notes should be up for public domain~

  14. Blue Ivy Rodriguez March 23, 2015

    Lol too funny

  15. you wanna be on tv I bet March 23, 2015

    Dj mustard song sound the same no matter what

  16. Slayty Perry (Superbowl Record Holder) March 23, 2015

    Dead @ #BeyInspired

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