Sean "Diddy" Combs has been hit with a lawsuit from a former associate who claims the mogul owes him more than $19 million for music by the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.
According to the Associated Press, James Sabatino, a former consultant for Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment Inc., says he flew B.I.G. to Miami in 1994 to perform at a concert and record some music. Sabatino says the rapper recorded about 17 minutes of vocals, and the session was also captured on about 90 minutes of video footage.
Although a contract was never signed, Sabatino says there was an understanding that he owned Biggie's tracks as well as the video footage because he purchased both the rapper's flight and studio session, the lawsuit states.
Diddy gave Sabatino a check for $25,000 and promised the rest of the money would follow in 60 days, according to the lawsuit.
Sabatino was later incarcerated on unrelated charges but still tried to collect the balance of his fee from Diddy. He was repeatedly told it was coming soon, according to the lawsuit, which seeks both actual and punitive damages.
Sabatino says in the filing that he felt pressured not to talk about the dispute because Diddy had been questioned by police about the rapper's death. The mogul apparently told police he did not feel Sabatino was involved in the slaying, but Sabatino says he feared Diddy would change his story and implicate him even if it was not true, reports AP.
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