After being sued by Stache Records and “Look At Me” producer Jimmy Duval earlier this year, Cleopatra Bernard, the mother of the late XXXTENTACION, is fighting back with a a countersuit of her own.
In February, Duval filed a claim stating that he was owed $2 million from X’s estate and did not receive the proper credit or royalties from his work with the slain rapper.
In new court documents obtained by The Blast, Bernard is asking the court that the original $2 million suit from Duval be dismissed, claiming that Duval entered a deal with X and that he was indeed given the proper credit. The original deal gave her son 50 percent of the collaboration royalties, while Duval and another producer Mala, who believed that the “Look At Me” beat was stolen from his track “Changes,” received 25 percent each.
However, Bernard states that Duval’s knowledge of the music industry’s system for producer credit is lackluster.
AD LOADING...
The suit from Bernard reads, “Defendants’ claim reveals a complete lack of understanding as to the music industry’s current mechanism for attributing producer credits. It is undisputed that the Recording was only released digitally. It is well known that, up until very recently, the vast majority of digital content providers, such as Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, etc., did not have a mechanism by which producers could be credited.”
Bernard is also demanding that Duval be awarded nothing and that her attorney fees are paid for as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6gekDLjJdi/
It hasn’t been all animosity between the two sides however, as Duval spoke about his time with X with HipHopDX just days after his murder. Not only did Duval praise X’s artistry, he also made it his mission to keep his legacy going.
AD LOADING...
“He changed everybody’s lives, and he was such a pioneer, such a leader. I’ve never experienced this in my life, from an artist that I had so much success with,” Duval said. “We all had so much great shit still to do, and we still got to do that. Unfortunately, as much as it breaks my heart, it’s just not going to be with him.”
Since his death in June 2018, XXXTENTACION’s name has managed to stay in headlines. Not only has his estate released two posthumous albums, Skins and Bad Vibes Forever, his team also announced a documentary on his life to be coming in the near future. On the philanthropic side, Bernard also set up a foundation in the late rapper’s names days before his first death anniversary.
