Grammy award-winning singer Muni Long has been hit with a lawsuit from ex-managers Chaka Zulu and Jeff Dixon accusing her of refusing to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars, per AllHipHop.
Zulu and Dixon, who filed the suit through their company, Ebony Son Entertainment, Inc., accuses Long and her companies of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud-like business practices.
The plaintiffs are no strangers to music contracts and business dealings. The veteran music executives founded Disturbing Tha Peace in 1998. Zulu helped to guide Ludacris’ career and played a pivotal role in launching the 24-hour hip-hop radio station Hot 107.9 in Atlanta.
The lawsuit claims Long owes them over $600K in unpaid commissions after revamping her career and inking big deals.
As the outlet reports, Long entered into a verbal management deal with Ebony Son Ent. at the 2023 Essence Festival, agreeing to pay the industry-standard 20 percent of her gross revenue plus expenses.
After a year of paying out commissions and the rollout of 2024’s Revenge album, Long and her Super Giant Records LLC, Muni Long Inc., Muni World Inc., and White Rose Garden LLC companies allegedly halted commission payments in October of 2024 and ended their agreement with Ebony Son outright in January of this year.
“Muni Long shamelessly reneged on her promises to pay Plaintiff the agreed-upon, customary percentage of revenue she earned, and only earned because Plaintiff assisted in obtaining those engagements. This stunning display of ungratefulness and lack of integrity compels Plaintiff’s pursuit of the claims in the Complaint to obtain that which rightfully belongs to Plaintiff,” the Complaint states.
Ebony Son claims it generated more than $5 million in total revenue for Long, including major performance dates at the Aretha Franklin Theater, SiriusXM Atlanta, and the So So Def Show, as well as publishing and songwriting deals with Shenseea and Tiwa Savage.
The company alleges more than $612,000 remains unpaid, including $458,600 in commissions and $153,698 in expenses.