@wizkhalifa Sues Rostrum Records For $1 Million

Add Wiz Khalifa to the ranks of musicians dealing with label issues, alongside the likes of Lil Wayne and (most prevalently) Kesha.

As an upstart 16-year-old, Wiz — neé Cameron Jibril Thomaz — signed a 360 deal with Rostrum Records in 2004. However, since his move to Atlantic Records in 2010 he has remained tied to Rostrum due to the 360 deal, which means that Rostrum has earned money from virtually every aspect of Wiz' professional life. As a result, Wiz is suing both Rostrum Records and his former manager Benjy Grinberg for a cool million dollars.

According to an article from Variety:

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, contends that Grinberg and Rostrum acted as “faithless fiduciaries in direct contravention of their obligations to him.

His lawsuit claims that Grinberg and Rostrum induced him to enter into a series of transactions that amounted to self dealing.

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 left Rostrum Records in 2014, dropping Grinberg as manager in the process. This, essentially, is why Chance The Rapper is so adamant about remaining independent.