Wu-Tang Clan superproducer RZA can’t seem to avoid lawsuits.
In late 2012, a Dutch singer named Thea Van Seijen filed a lawsuit against the Wu leader over unpaid royalties. Van Siejen claims that she collaborated on 14 songs with RZA as a performer and was a contributing writer on all 14 tracks. She alleged that she was not paid fairly according to her agreement with the producer.
Speaking to TMZ, RZA says that she was not promised any co-writing credit or royalties. According RZA, she isn’t owed any additional payments and she was just dumped on him by a friend.
“I helped a lady that one of my buddies saw her walking the street,” RZA explained. “I don’t know where the f**k she came from but he brought her to my studio. I helped her. I put her on songs. She had a beautiful voice. She was a white girl that had a black girl voice. That’s very unique sometimes. Nowadays, maybe it’s not so unique, but she was very unique.”
“I gave her opportunities and I put her on songs and I paid her,” he continued. “But she had to go and find her own way and register her name and register her song. I wasn’t doing the work for her. I was like ‘Here’s the song, here go your percentage of it and go do your thing.’ It comes out, she came back and sued me!”
He should be used to it. Click the flip to check out some of the other lawsuits RZA has been involved in one way or the other over the last few years…
