The battle for ownership in hip-hop continues as **T.I.** takes Cinq Music Group to court over what he claims is a blatant violation of their multi-million dollar catalog agreement. The Atlanta legend, who sold the rights to groundbreaking albums like *Trap Muzik*, *King*, and *Paper Trail* to Cinq in 2017, is now fighting to get them back. According to the lawsuit filed recently, Tip agreed to the initial sale only because it included a specific provision allowing him to buy back his masters for $3 million. However, when the Grammy Award-winning rapper attempted to exercise this option in 2024, Cinq Music allegedly tried to hit him with an astronomical $50 million price tag. T.I.'s legal team, led by Robert Jacobs, argues that Cinq intentionally manipulated the numbers to "artificially inflate" the buyout price. The original contract stipulated that the buyback price would be determined by a formula based on Cinq's gross receipts—explicitly excluding revenue from digital streaming providers. The lawsuit claims the label ignored this crucial detail, including streaming numbers to drive up the cost and force a renegotiation. "Cinq regretted that it had agreed to the [option terms], and, therefore... did everything it could to frustrate plaintiffs' efforts to complete the purchase," the legal filing states. This case highlights the ongoing, often predatory struggles artists face when dealing with catalog rights and the fine print of master recording contracts. As of now, Cinq Music has yet to publicly respond to the allegations.
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