Ice Cube collaborator Sir Jinx will have to shore up his lawsuit against Warner Music Group Corp. in which he contends he is owed more than $60,000 in royalties for beats he contributed to Yo-Yo’s album “Make Way for the Motherlode,” a judge has ruled.
The rapper’s real name is Anthony Wheaton. He alleges breach of contract, breach of good faith and unjust enrichment in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed last Dec. 27. In his ruling Friday, Judge Randolph M. Hammock said that all three causes of action need more facts to support them. The judge also dismissed Wheaton’s request for an accounting of records.
In their court papers, Warner Bros. attorneys contended the lawsuit “fails entirely to apprise defendants, or the court, of the agreement purportedly at issue, or the terms plaintiff contends the WMG defendants have breached. These fundamental issues should not remain a mystery and plaintiff’s inability to identify such material terms is telling.”
On Wednesday, Wheaton dropped Universal Music Group as a defendant.
According to the suit, Wheaton notified the defendants in September 2019 that he was owed $62,090 in royalties for his contribution to the Yo-Yo song, but was never paid even though he paid income tax on the money. Wheaton, 55, is a cousin of multi-platinum producer Dr. Dre.