Pete Rock is set to prepare a lawsuit against Nas for unpaid royalties to his work on the album Illmatic.
“Nas and his people have stonewalled me since 1994,” Rock said in an interview with Page Six. “My New Year’s resolution is to be compensated for my hard work on Illmatic.”
Rock and his attorneys have claimed that Nas signed a contract that would allow the producer to cut proceeds from the track “The World is Yours.” The proceeds are now said to be in the million-dollar range.
The song has been sampled on many tracks since its release over 25 years ago, as rappers such as Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Eminem, and Rick Ross have used it on their songs.
Rock’s attorneys have said that Nas has failed to honor the contract deal despite their persistent demands and that they will be filing the lawsuit later this month.
Nas and Rock have worked on numerous songs after Illmatic, such as “The Art Of It” and “Queensbridge Politics,” which debuted on The Lost Tapes 2 album.
