Death Row Records producer Daz Dillinger (born Delmar Arnaud) filed a lawsuit against Tupac Shakur's estate, claiming unpaid royalties for decades.
According to Rolling Stone, the May 8 filing accuses Amaru Entertainment—which manages Shakur's music catalog—of owing him unpaid royalties from more than a dozen songs he co-wrote and produced. The list includes five tracks from Tupac's final studio album, All Eyez on Me: "Ambitionz az a Ridah," "Skandalouz," "Got My Mind Made Up," "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted," and "I Ain't Mad at Cha."
In 2024, Arnaud requested the royalties he believed he was owed. Amaru Entertainment allegedly paid him $91,000. They did not provide him with royalty statements to explain how they arrived at that number.
"At a minimum, Amaru has failed to render statements and/or pay sums due," Arnaud's lawyer Bret Lewis told Billboard. Lewis added that the precise amount owed will be determined "according to proof after an accounting and discovery."
The lawsuit comes nearly three decades after Tupac's 1996 murder. With the catalog worth hundreds of millions, the dispute raises questions about how royalties have been managed and distributed from one of hip-hop's most valuable estates.
