Why is Madlib suing his ex-manager Eothen 'Egon' Alapatt? Mismanagement lawsuit explored

Madlib, the celebrated hip-hop producer and DJ, has filed a lawsuit against his former manager, Eothen "Egon" Alapatt. The lawsuit alleges serious mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty.

On October 31, 2024, Otis Lee Jackson Jr., widely known as Madlib, initiated legal action against his former manager, Alapatt, in a Los Angeles court. The lawsuit, reported by Billboard, accuses Alapatt of "mismanagement" and exploiting his managerial position to unlawfully profit from the record producer's music catalog and merchandise businesses, among other allegations.

The lawsuit claims that Alapatt had started working for Otis around 2010 when the producer left his deal with Stones Throw Records, where Alapatt was an executive.

For the unversed, Otis Lee Jackson Jr. is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is known for his innovative approach to hip-hop and expansive musical versatility. His best works include Madvillainy, Piñata, Shades of Blue, Champion Sound, and Yessir Whatever.

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Exploring Madlib's legal battle with former manager Egon Alapatt

The record producer filed a lawsuit (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Madlib filed a lawsuit against his former manager, Eothen Alapatt, in a Los Angeles court. According to lawsuit documents obtained by Billboard, the Californian artist claims he entrusted Alapatt with managing two of his business ventures, Madicine Show and Rapp Cats.

However, the renowned producer alleges he recently uncovered evidence that Alapatt mismanaged these entities and engaged in severe self-dealing. The lawsuit accuses Alapatt of withholding crucial information, repeatedly breaching his fiduciary duties to the record producer, and displaying a pattern of pervasive mismanagement detrimental to the businesses.

"Not only was EGON not performing these duties, but he was also engaged in rank self-dealing, concealing information from and repeatedly breaching his duties to Madlib, and otherwise engaging in persistent and pervasive mismanagement," the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit also claims that Alapatt positioned his subsidiary label, Now-Again, as an intermediary in Madlib's management agreements for music, licensing, and merchandising.

By doing so, the suit alleges, he leveraged this management structure to increase revenue for himself and his label at the record producer's expense.

"[Alapatt] has refused to account to Madlib regarding how he and Now-Again have been compensated in that connection or to proffer any written agreement between the two entities," the lawsuit reads.

Furthermore, according to Variety, the lawsuit asserts that Alapatt exercised complete control over Madlib's businesses and finances yet neglected to provide transparent accounting and financial records.

It also claims that Alapatt failed to establish proper legal boundaries between his various roles in the Californian artist's artistic, business, merchandising, and label management activities.

According to Variety, the lawsuit cites forensic reports examining the producer's financial accounts, revealing a range of accounting irregularities between 2018 and mid-2022.

"A forensic accounting commissioned by Madlib … revealed several accounting irregularities as well as a lack of any backup documentation for, ... the majority of inbound deposits to the two entities' bank accounts (totaling in the several millions of dollars)," the lawsuit claims.

Additionally, Variety reports that Alapatt faced a separate lawsuit in late 2023 filed by Jasmine Dumile Thompson, the widow of MF DOOM, who accused him of exploiting the late rapper.

The lawsuit claims that Alapatt retained 31 notes containing songs and lyrics by MF DOOM and sought to reclaim ownership of them. However, Alapatt contends that he purchased these notes from Doom's studio landlord for $12,500 instead of unpaid rent and announced his intention to donate them to a hip-hop archive.

According to Complex, Alapatt reportedly instructed the attorney and accountant involved in the record producer's business affairs to refrain from collaborating with or sharing any information with Madlib's new legal and financial team.

Also, Alapatt has yet to respond to the lawsuit.