Mobb Deep has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by a hardcore label that claims the Hip Hop group stole their logo.
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, Bush Baby Zamagate, Inc. brought a lawsuit against Havoc (real name Kejuan Muchita) and the estate of Prodigy (real name Albert Johnson), as well as the clothing brand Supreme, on Wednesday (October 11). The suit “arises out of Defendants’ improper and illegal use of a nearly identical logo mark to Plaintiff’s inherently distinctive, incontestable, and famous logo.” Supreme is part of the suit because they used the logo on clothing for a collab with Mobb Deep earlier this year.
The logo in question is a dragon that Mobb Deep has used intermittently since at least 1997. The suit claims that the hardcore band Sick Of It All, whose releases Bush Baby Zamagate puts out, has used a “nearly identical” dragon logo “since at least as early as 1987.” It also says that the label has asked Mobb Deep to stop using the logo two other times in the past, and that the group agreed.
The label is requesting that the Queens Hop Hop legends, as well as Supreme, be prevented from “using the Infringing Mark or any other mark or marks confusingly similar thereto, alone or in combination with other words, names, styles, titles, designs, or marks in connection with the provision of any goods and services.” The suit also asks for compensatory damages. Check out the filing below.
So far, Mobb Deep hasn’t commented about the lawsuit, and have not filed an answer to Bush Baby Zamagate’s complaint.
In other Mobb Deep news, Havoc has confirmed that a new Mobb Deep album with posthumous vocals by his departed rap partner is currently in the works, and that he’s also recording a project with Method Man.
During a People’s Party interview posted on July 31, the Queens MC talked to Talib Kweli about the Meth collaboration, as well as making music with RJ Payne and Ras Kass. He topped the update by revealing that he is also putting together a new record using vocals by the late Prodigy, who passed away in 2017.
“I’m actively working on a Mobb Deep album now, as we speak,” he said. “The family blessed me with a bunch of vocals [by Prodigy] and soon as I leave here, I’m goin’ back to work.”
And in mid-August, the 49-year-old rapper opened up about his favorite Mobb Deep album and went into detail about his choice. In an interview on SiriusXM’s Shade 45, the Queensbridge native revealed that 1995’s The Infamous was his favorite project to create alongside Prodigy.
“The Infamous, because it catapulted us,” Havoc said. “A lot of the supporters be like, ‘Yo, Infamous is dope but Hell on Earth is crazy.’ But, for me, the reason why I say The Infamous [over Hell on Earth is] because without The Infamous album bringing us back from an album that didn’t really do good [Juvenile Hell], we probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you.”