Remember late last year when pharmaceutical price gouger Martin Shkreli bought an exclusive Wu-Tang Clan album called Once Upon A Time In Shaolin for $2 million and how that made everyone who wasn’t him sad, angry, and disgusted all at once? Well, Lamont “U-God” Hawkins certainly remembers, because he now claims he wasn’t paid for his contributions to that phenomenally overpriced album. Or a lot of other Wu-Tang-related stuff, for that matter. And now, Hawkins is bringing a $2.5 million suit against the rest of the Clan, alleging that he’s been deprived of royalties for at least six years. TMZ reports that Hawkins is demanding nothing less than a full-scale Wu-Tang audit, amounting to a complete investigation of the group‘s revenue streams.
The papers filed by Hawkins in New York claim that the rapper is contractually entitled to semiannual payments from Wu-Tang merchandise, but he hasn’t been receiving these since 2010. By the rapper’s own estimation, he has contributed to 170 different tracks since 1993. TMZ further speculates that Hawkins’ chief antagonist within the group is Robert Fitzgerald “RZA” Diggs, who allegedly exerts a dictatorial control over the Wu-Tang Clan, aided by his brother, Mitchell Diggs, the CEO of Wu-Tang Corp.
For those who never want to experience joy again in their lives, a smirking Shkreli shared the contents of the secret album online after Donald Trump won the presidency on November 8. Warning: To watch this is to deny the very existence of beauty and meaning in the universe. Enjoy.