Dr. Khalid Muhammad’s Estate Sues Over Unauthorized Use Of Speech In Tupac Shakur Song

The speech was used in 1996's 'White Man'z World'

The estate of Dr. Khalid Muhammad has filed a suit against Tupac Shakur’s estate, stating that the Brooklyn-born artist lifted a political speech from Muhammad when it was featured on Tupac’s “White Man’z World,” AllHipHop reports.

Muhammad’s estate claims no permission was sought for the speech to be used on the 1996 track that appeared on The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory as Tupac’s alter ego, Makaveli.

The suit also names Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Death Row Records, Universal’s publishing arm, and the producer of the song, Darryl “Big D” Harper, as co-defendants.

The lawsuit claims Shakur, who died in September 1996 at the age of 25, used a seven-line excerpt from a speech given Muhammad during 1993’s “Black Holocaust Nationhood Conference.”

“His presence on ‘White Manz World’ reinforces Tupac Shakur’s role as not just an artist, but as a voice for Black empowerment and resistance against oppression. At a time when hip-hop was a leading force in shaping political discourse among Black youth, Dr. Khalid’s inclusion gave ‘White Manz World’ an undeniable authenticity, elevating it beyond music into a revolutionary message against racial injustice,” the lawyer for Dr. Muhammad’s estate, Malik Z. Shabazz, said.

The estate claims that neither Tupac nor any of the aforementioned names above ever requested a license, gave credit, or compensated them for the copyrighted works. The estate stated that the parties should have known the speech was protected work as access to the public records showed it as such.

Muhammad’s estate is requesting at least $5 million and a permanent injunction to block further exploitation of Muhammad’s voice as well as attorneys’ fees and the impoundment of infringing materials.

Muhammad, the former Nation of Islam official, died in 2001. He was 53.