Jay-Z can cross off a longstanding action item from his to do list. His legal battle with a former agency has been finally to put to rest.
Billboard is reporting that Roc Nation’s battle with Iconix Brand Group has been settled. According to the report the lawsuit has been settled where Iconix has agreed to sell a portion of their Rocawear Clothing rights back to Roc Nation.
Originally filed in May 2017, IBG took umbrage with Roc Nation when their subsidiary, Roc Nation Apparel Group, partnered with New Era hats with baseball crowns that featured RN’s signature paper planes logo. In turn Roc Nation counter sued Iconix in 2018 citing their original deal was for Rocawear not Roc Nation. A couple of months later Roc Nation added to the original filing claiming Iconix had maliciously reworked “carefully negotiated agreements” to their favor and fabricating financial records.
In 2007 Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand to Iconix Brand Group for $204 million after separating ways from co-founder Damon Dash.
JAY-Z has put his former business partner on notice. He and his team are alleging that their brand management firm cooked their books.
According to a report by Billboard Roc Nation has filed a lawsuit against Iconix Brand Group Inc. for reportedly misappropriating finances in relation to their apparel entities. In March 2007 Carter sold the rights for Rocawear to IBG for $204 million. He further engaged the firm in 2013 when Roc Nation entered a contract for additional licensing initiatives.
Their filing alleges that since then the firm inflated their earnings thus falsifying the company’s stability and value. The suit states that conspiracy to defraud comes “out of a massive years-long fraud perpetrated by Iconix and its affiliates to amass a portfolio of trademarks under false pretenses, in the process defrauding its licensees and partners, and setting off a colossal accounting scandal the depths of which are still being uncovered”. The purported scheme “sent its share price from a peak of more than $400 per share in 2014, to less than a dollar today”.
In 2018 JAY-Z was questioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the fraud allegations but his legal team stated he didn’t have any relevant details regarding the suit. Roc Nation is looking for unspecified monetary damages and reimbursement of all legal fees incurred.
The New York Post’s Page Sixhas reported that Hip-Hop billionaire Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation are suing a city licensing firm, alleging it of bilking investors in a “massive years-long fraud,” according to a new lawsuit. Roc Nation first sold the men’s clothing brand Rocawear to Iconix for $204 million in 2007.
According to court documents in the Manhattan Supreme Court, the suit says that the Iconix Brand Group Inc., duped it and other companies — including Ecko, Ed Hardy and PONY — into doing business by not being honest about its financials, and then made off with their money without delivering the services that the company promised.
The feds have been investigating Iconix, which court documents reveal have “amass[ed] a portfolio of trademarks under false pretenses,” and detailed that they committed fraud by having “absconded with its licensees’ money without providing the branding and retail support it promised.” Roc Nation had been doing business with the firm after selling men’s clothing brand Rocawear to them for $204 million back in 2007. Though the company’s stocks were strong through 2015, the suit points out that, today, they are worth “less than a dollar per share.”
Iconix then “absconded with its licensees’ money without providing the branding and retail support it promised,” the court documents allege.
“Plaintiffs never would have entangled their business interests with Iconix had it disclosed the true condition of its business or the massive accounting fraud in which it was engaged,” the court documents claim.
The representation for Roc Nation is requesting that Iconix should pay for the all legal costs accrued when Jay-Z had to testify after the SEC subpoenaed him and for other unspecified damages.
Twelve years ago, JAY-Z projected that he would “see about a billion” in a guest verse on Freeway’s “Roc-A-Fella Billionaires.” At the time, the head of Def Jam Records was speculating on the maturation of his real estate portfolio and other assets. In 2019, Forbes reports that the net worth of Shawn Carter is “conservatively” at $1 billion. By this count, JAY-Z becomes the first Hip-Hop artist to reach this milestone, in a longstanding race that involved Dr. Dre and Puff Daddy. Forbes‘ Zack O’Malley Greenburg accounts that Jay has amassed $500 million in pre-tax earnings over the last decade. The estimate also mentions Rocawear’s $204 million sale to Iconix in 2007, and points to significant stakes in Tidal, D’Ussé cognac, and Armand de Brignac champagne. JAY-Z Celebrates Nipsey Hussle With A Freestyle About Self-Empowerment (Video) In particular, the report accounts for more than $300 million in the “Ace Of Spades” bubbly, $70 million in value from a 2013 investment in Uber, and $100 million from D’Ussé, which has grown nearly 80% annually. In addition to eight and nine-figure draws from Roc Nation and Tidal, respectively, the report estimates that Hov’s music catalog is worth $75 million. Jay famously negotiated to own almost all of his master recordings and publishing in a solo Rap recording career that dates back nearly 25 years. Moreover, Jay has an eye for value. The creator of 2013’s “Picasso Baby” has an art collection that Forbes estimates at $70 million. That art is valued $20 million more than the real estate of Jay (and wife Beyoncé), which has properties in Manhattan, Bel Air, and Long Island’s East Hampton. This climb comes from Forbes‘ early 2018’s estimate of Jay’s net worth at $900 million. At the time, that was $75 million above friend and collaborator, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Ever See JAY-Z, Busta Rhymes, Biz Markie & Jaz-O Freestyle On The Same Stage? (Video) In May of 2014, Dr. Dre (who has worked with JAY-Z) anointed himself “the first billionaire in Hip-Hop” following Apple’s acquisition of Beats. However, in 2015, Forbes’ Zack O’Malley Greenburg reported why that statement was not factual. Instead, they estimated Andre Young to be at approximately $700 million. Dre later expressed regret for the 2014 video, which singer/actor Tyrese posted online, igniting the news cycle. Two years ago this month, JAY-Z’s 4:44 admitted some of that investment ethos and admitted past money mismanagement. However, by this count, no one can knock the hustle of Shawn Carter.
For as long as there has been Hip-Hop, fashion has been an integral part of the culture. From what people wore, how they wore it, the expression of clothing and accessories influenced people who did not listen to Rap, or participate in the four elements. By the 1980s, as Run-D.M.C. partnered with Adidas, various stars in the Rap genre began working with brands, designers, and retailers. While many Hip-Hop Heads know the stories of A-list partnerships and endorsement deals, a 30-plus-year-old history is now being told in a documentary. The Shirt Kings worked with some of the greatest MCs of all-time to do something for the culture by people invested in it.
In a new doc presented by TRB2HH, (The Untold Story Of ShirtKings: Pioneers of Urban Fashion), Hip-Hop and New York’s fashion scene gets the flashback treatment.
The 31-minute film is chocked full of personal and historical anecdotes, interviews, and blast from the past clips featuring some of the most influential Rap and Fashion trailblazers to properly remember the beginnings of Edwin “Phade” Sacasa, Rafael “Kasheme” Avery, and Clyde “Nike” Harewood’s custom t-shirt venture. Beyond the talent, fame, and the fortune that has grown exponentially from the efforts of their labor. The trio’s trendsetting style has brought forth an entire generation of future artists and brand entrepreneurs, laying the blueprint for Rap artists to represent and even become a major brand worldwide.
Throughout the video, artists such as Nas, Biz Markie, LL Cool J, Sean Price, Rakim, and others praise and sport gear from the almighty Shirt Kings. At one point, (8:30) Clyde “Nike” Harewood and Edwin “Phade” Sacasa discuss meeting Jam Master Jay and how their encounter led to the creation of the first Shirt Kings store.
“Phade” remembers, “We went to Kasheme’s house. I put an airbrush in his hand. He told me he knew Jam Master Jay. I was probably about 17, 18 years old, you know, knocking on Jay’s door. He opened the door and was like, “Yo, what’s up? What’s up? What’s going on?” You know? And I’m like, ‘Wow,’ like, this guy I’m seeing on, you know, MTV is right here now, like, in front of my face. I pull out a black shirt with a gold chain. I painted an acrylic gold chain and Jay just went crazy. He was like, “Yo! This is me!” We discussed the price, and you know, I told him fifty bucks, cause I’m lookin’ at the man right now. You know? He was like “Yo, you know, if this is what you guys wanna do, go to the avenue and open up a shop.” That’s how Shirt Kings came about.
Later, “Nike” Harewood explains further (9:30), “A partner that used to work on our construction site was down with Run-D.M.C. Kasheme told him about the thing he wanted to do with Phade, and he (Jam Master Jay) asked Phade if he could show him a shirt and he says, “Yo I’ma take you to Jay’s house.” They went to Jay’s house and Jay seen the shirts that he did… And Jay said ‘Yo I need two of those. Ya’ll should get a spot.’ And that’s when Kasheme thought about [opening up] at the Coliseum [Mall]… I didn’t see this turning into what it became, you know what I mean? I just thought it would be some little, tiny money making shirts for the market, or the kids, whatever, whatever. But, we had what it takes to make it different than getting a shirt at the amusement park.” These moments with Jam Master Jay led to the creation of their Shirt Kings moniker, and became the ultimate jump off for their placement as a brand in New York City and the greater Hip-Hop community.
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For as long as there has been Hip-Hop, fashion has been an integral part of the culture. From what people wore, how they wore it, the expression of clothing and accessories influenced people who did not listen to Rap, or participate in the four elements. By the 1980s, as Run-D.M.C. partnered with Adidas, various stars in the Rap genre began working with brands, designers, and retailers. While many Hip-Hop Heads know the stories of A-list partnerships and endorsement deals, a 30-plus-year-old history is now being told in a documentary. The Shirt Kings worked with some of the greatest MCs of all-time to do something for the culture by people invested in it.
In a new doc presented by TRB2HH, (The Untold Story Of ShirtKings: Pioneers of Urban Fashion), Hip-Hop and New York’s fashion scene gets the flashback treatment.
The 31-minute film is chocked full of personal and historical anecdotes, interviews, and blast from the past clips featuring some of the most influential Rap and Fashion trailblazers to properly remember the beginnings of Edwin “Phade” Sacasa, Rafael “Kasheme” Avery, and Clyde “Nike” Harewood’s custom t-shirt venture. Beyond the talent, fame, and the fortune that has grown exponentially from the efforts of their labor. The trio’s trendsetting style has brought forth an entire generation of future artists and brand entrepreneurs, laying the blueprint for Rap artists to represent and even become a major brand worldwide.
Throughout the video, artists such as Nas, Biz Markie, LL Cool J, Sean Price, Rakim, and others praise and sport gear from the almighty Shirt Kings. At one point, (8:30) Clyde “Nike” Harewood and Edwin “Phade” Sacasa discuss meeting Jam Master Jay and how their encounter led to the creation of the first Shirt Kings store.
“Phade” remembers, “We went to Kasheme’s house. I put an airbrush in his hand. He told me he knew Jam Master Jay. I was probably about 17, 18 years old, you know, knocking on Jay’s door. He opened the door and was like, “Yo, what’s up? What’s up? What’s going on?” You know? And I’m like, ‘Wow,’ like, this guy I’m seeing on, you know, MTV is right here now, like, in front of my face. I pull out a black shirt with a gold chain. I painted an acrylic gold chain and Jay just went crazy. He was like, “Yo! This is me!” We discussed the price, and you know, I told him fifty bucks, cause I’m lookin’ at the man right now. You know? He was like “Yo, you know, if this is what you guys wanna do, go to the avenue and open up a shop.” That’s how Shirt Kings came about.
Later, “Nike” Harewood explains further (9:30), “A partner that used to work on our construction site was down with Run-D.M.C. Kasheme told him about the thing he wanted to do with Phade, and he (Jam Master Jay) asked Phade if he could show him a shirt and he says, “Yo I’ma take you to Jay’s house.” They went to Jay’s house and Jay seen the shirts that he did… And Jay said ‘Yo I need two of those. Ya’ll should get a spot.’ And that’s when Kasheme thought about [opening up] at the Coliseum [Mall]… I didn’t see this turning into what it became, you know what I mean? I just thought it would be some little, tiny money making shirts for the market, or the kids, whatever, whatever. But, we had what it takes to make it different than getting a shirt at the amusement park.” These moments with Jam Master Jay led to the creation of their Shirt Kings moniker, and became the ultimate jump off for their placement as a brand in New York City and the greater Hip-Hop community.
