Mary J. Blige is being sued by longtime friend and stylist Misa Hylton, over allegedly derailing Vado‘s career and forcing him to back out of a management deal.
In an explosive report on Tuesday (April 29), AllHipHop revealed that Hylton is accusing Mary and her company, Beautiful Life Productions, of interfering with a signed management agreement between Vado and her company, M.I.S.A.
According to the docs, Hylton and Vado signed their deal in July 2023, which reportedly granted her company 20 percent of the Harlem rapper’s earnings. He then signed a distribution deal for his music in October of that year with Mary’s Beautiful Life Productions.
By July of 2024, he had reportedly finished his album – but Hylton alleges that Mary then threatened to shelve it and block his touring opportunities if he didn’t break his management contract. She also alleges Mary persuaded him to break the deal by courting him on private yachts, at exclusive events and more, and that the main reason was because Mary’s security chief (who is also named as her boyfriend in the suit) wanted to manage Vado himself.
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Hylton alleges she has evidence in the form of private messages from Mary to Vado and argues that the singer’s actions left Vado in “economic servitude,” unable to earn income or repay advances tied to his recording deal.
She’s seeking $5 million in damages for breach of contract, emotional distress and interference with business relationships, as well as an injunction to prevent further disruption from Blige or her company.
Mary J. Blige was also indirectly involved in a lawsuit last year, though it was her 1992 classic “Real Love” at the center of the issue.
Tuff City Records filed a complaint last April, accusing UMG’s publishing division of copyright infringement for allegedly using an unlicensed sample from 1973 funk song “Impeach the President” by the Honey Drippers on the MJB track. The song, with its iconic drum break, has been sampled hundred of times by countless Hip Hop artists including 2Pac, Biggie, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre and more.
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Most recently it was sampled by Doja Cat on “Can’t Wait” off her 2023 album, Scarlet.
In the complaint, Tuff City’s attorneys say they have “advised defendant repeatedly of the presence of the uncleared sample” on “Real Love” but have been ignored.
Mary J. Blige was not named in the suit nor accused of any violation. The suit also makes it clear that UMG Recordings, which owns the masters to “Real Love,” already reached an agreement for the sample. But they said that UMG’s publishing division has refused to do the same.
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As noted by Billboard, it’s unclear why the company waited more than 30 years to sue over it – especially when they have sued over that very sample in the past, including before “Real Love” even came out. Back in 1991, the company sued Sony Music and Def Jam accusing Marley Marl of illegally sampling the track on LL Cool J‘s “Around the Way Girl” and “Six Minutes of Pleasure.”
