The gloves are starting to come off in the Wiz Khalifa vs. Rostrum Records battle and it could get messy.
Rostrum Records founder and Khalifa’s ex-manager Benjy Grinberg just hit Wiz with a $2 million countersuit in response to the $1 million lawsuit he slapped them with earlier this month.
Khalifa‘s lawsuit accuses Grinberg of self-dealing and alleges “that Grinberg began representing Khalifa in 20o4, when the recording artist was just 16. His lawsuit contends that Grinberg and his label ‘induced’ him to enter into a ‘360 agreement,’ which provided that Khalifa would be exclusive to Rostrum and Rostrum would share in his income streams as a songwriter and touring a merchandising. The lawsuit contends that with that contract and a series of amendments, Grinberg failed to disclose alternative arrangements that could be more beneficial to him, and instead tied him to an agreement that ‘reached for more than a decade into virtually every aspect’ of his professional life.”
Khalifa is hoping that the California Labor Code’s seven-year rule will work in his favor and terminate his contract with Rostrum.
To that, Grinberg has responded with a lawsuit claiming that Wiz actually owes his company $2 million.
Billboard reports that the label has filed a suit stating that Rostrum Records is is entitled to receive 15 percent of Khalifa’s royalties that he has earned via music sales, touring and merchandising going on say that Wiz’s suit is an “attempt to evade paying millions of dollars” that he owes to Rostrum.
“To give everything you have to an artist and then be on the receiving end of a fabricated lawsuit is deeply disappointing,” said Grinberg via statement. “What was alleged is, in fact, the complete opposite of our actions and the antithesis of what Rostrum Records and I stand for. Rostrum looks forward to quickly addressing these baseless claims so we can continue to focus our energies on our artists’ success.”
