Perhaps you can knock the hustle, after all. Jay Z’s Roc Nation is reportedly being sued by Prince’s NPG Records for illegally streaming nearly every song from the Purple One’s discography through TIDAL.
According to documents, Prince’s deal with Roc Nation was only meant to stream his final album HITnRUN Phase One through TIDAL. However, nearly all of Prince’s catalog became available for streaming through the platform starting June 7, the date that would have marked the late singer’s 58th birthday. NPG claims this was unauthorized, as per TMZ.
NPG is now suing Roc Nation for copyright infringement, barring streaming for all Prince material outside of HITnRUN. They are seeking unspecified damages for the streaming of hits like “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Purple Rain,” and much more.
Hov reportedly made a bid to buy Prince’s unreleased music in October. This month, the estate rejected the offer.
Back in May, however, Jay bragged about TIDAL’s ability to stream Prince’s music on Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s “All the Way Up (Remix).” “Prince left his masters where they safe and sound,” he rapped. “We never gon’ let the elevator take us down.”