MF DOOM created a lyrical masterwork with producer Madlib on their joint project, Madvillainy, on the famed Stones Throw label, catapulting them both to revered status within Hip-Hop. The estate of MF DOOM filed a lawsuit earlier this week, accusing the former manager of the label of possessing over two dozen notebooks containing lyrics that found their way into the rapper’s classic works.
Billboard reports that Jasmine Dumile Thompson, the widow of MF DOOM, real name Dumile Daniel Thompson, filed a lawsuit against former Stones Throw manager Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, alleging that he stole a stack of rhyme books.
The suit was filed in California federal court this past Tuesday (October 24) and is part of an ongoing battle enacted by the estate to have the rhyme books returned to the family. Earlier this year, Mrs. Thompson shared an image on DOOM’s Instagram account displaying email exchanges she had with Alapatt with the caption reading “Egon Give the Notebooks Back.”
Alapatt once served as the general manager and A&R for Stones Throw Records, one of the leading independent music labels. Alapatt was also a former manager for Madlib and now heads the Now Again Records company.
In the lawsuit, the estate alleges that Alapatt wants the notebooks to be “donated to a university or government archive” or another such place that keeps historical records of his choosing despite that plan going against what the estate has asked.
How the notebooks came into Alapatt’s possession, according to the suit, came after DOOM traveled to the United Kingdom for a show in 2010 but was barred from leaving the country due to immigration issues. At the time, DOOM worked out of a Los Angeles, Calif. studio that housed his rhyme books and Alapatt obtained them in his absence.
“Alapatt never consulted with DOOM about his acquisition of the notebooks and took advantage of DOOM’s being out of the country to obtain them,” reads another portion of the lawsuit.
Alapatt’s lawyer Kenneth Freundlich issued a statement on his client’s behalf to Billboard.
“Mr. Alapatt looks forward to his day in court to dismiss these frivolous and untrue allegations. Mr. Alapatt rescued these books from DOOM’s unpaid landlord who had taken possession of all of his belongings. With DOOM’s blessing, Mr. Alapatt intended to donate the books to either the Smithsonian or the Cornell University Hip Hop Archive, where they could be considered and studied by scholars, in the same way that manuscripts by great poets or sheet music by great composers are. Mr. Alapatt will do everything he can to ensure that these historically significant books are archived and protected.”
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