A judge Thursday denied a bid by Ice Cube collaborator Sir Jinx to reinstate Roc Nation LLC as a defendant in a lawsuit the entertainer filed in a dispute over royalties he alleges he is owed.
On Dec. 2, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gail Killefer dismissed Roc Nation from the case in which the rapper, whose real name is Anthony Wheaton, alleges he is owed compensation after he produced the song, “Dope,” and it was subsequently played throughout the music industry.
The judge additionally found that there is “uncertainty” whether Wheaton is entitled to royalties from either company because his lawsuit has no specific facts showing how the rapper wrote and produced “Dope” and what royalties, if any, were assigned to him. In an earlier ruling, Killefer said Wheaton’s claims against Grand Hustle also needs shoring up.
But on Dec. 11, Wheaton’s lawyer filed a motion asking Killefer to reconsider her ruling nine days earlier, saying there was “essential new evidence” that warranted a reversal of the court’s finding of no agreement between Wheaton and Roc Nation.
“Thus, the new evidence demonstrates that there is a contractual relationship between Sir Jinx and Roc Nation,” Wheaton’s attorney wrote in her court papers.
But in their pleadings, Roc Nation attorneys said Wheaton’s “sudden discovery of these documents is nothing more than an improper attempt to get a second bite at the apple under the guise of reconsideration.”
Beyond “blatantly mischaracterizing the new evidence — Wheaton “glosses over the fact that the purported new evidence is not new,” according to Roc Nation’s lawyers’ pleadings.
In his suit filed in July 2023, Wheaton says he has waited for years to be properly compensated.
“Sir Jinx has attempted to be patient, but after defendants’ failure to receive an appropriate response and recompense, Sir Jinx files this case to assert the financial damages he incurred due to the defendants’ disregard and breach of contract,” the suit states.
Wheaton, 54, is a cousin of multi-platinum producer Dr. Dre.