Dr. Khallid Muhammad’s Estate Files Lawsuit For Unauthorized Use Of Speech On Tupac Shakur Song

The estate of Tupac Shakur is embroiled in a lawsuit accusing the late artist of illegally using a copyrighted speech by the late Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad in a 1996 song titled “White Man’z World.”

According to AllHipHop, the estate of Dr. Khallid Muhammad has filed a suit against Tupac’s estate stating that the Brooklyn-born artist lifted a political speech from Dr. Muhammad when it was featured on a song Tupac recorded. They claim no permission was sought for the speech to be used on the track that appeared on The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory as Tupac’s alter ego, Makaveli.

The suit also names as co-defendants Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Death Row Records, Universal’s publishing arm, and the producer of the song, Darryl “Big D” Harper.

In the lawsuit, it claims that the artist used a seven-line excerpt from a speech given  by Dr. Muhammad in 1993, during the “Black Holocaust Nationhood Conference.”

“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. 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 lawyer for Dr. Muhammad’s estate, Malik Z. Shabazz, stated.

The paperwork also reveals that neither Tupac nor any of the aforementioned names above ever requested a license, gave credit, or compensated them for the copyrighted works. The estate stated that the parties should have known the speech was protected work as access to the public records showed it as such.

They are requesting at least $5 million and are seeking a permanent injunction to block further exploitation of Muhammad’s voice, as well as attorneys’ fees and the impoundment of infringing materials.