In a recent legal development, G Herbo, whose real name is Herbert Randall Wright III, has taken legal action against his former manager, Joseph Bowden, and label, Machine Entertainment Group. The acclaimed rapper asserts that he is owed a substantial $40 million due to what he perceives as unjust contractual agreements.
According to court documents obtained by XXL, G Herbo initiated the lawsuit on October 25. In his legal complaint, he accuses Joseph Bowden and Machine Entertainment Group of engaging in "unfair" and "one-sided" dealings.
The documents state, "Bowden's company, Machine, entered into unfair and one-sided deals with Wright to obtain his copyrights and other valuable rights. Bowden ensured that Wright would have no access to the millions of dollars that Wright had rightfully earned, and instead that Wright would be dependent upon Bowden to make even basic purchases for him."
The lawsuit further alleges, "Through this scheme, Bowden planned to keep Wright forever indebted to Defendants...unable to terminate the contracts which gave Wright's valuable copyrights and other rights to Defendants."
Furthermore, G Herbo expressed strong reservations about a financial report provided by Machine, which claimed that he owed them a "recoupable balance of $8.4 million."
G Herbo vehemently disputes this figure, pointing to years of financial mismanagement and a lack of accounting transparency. He reveals that he signed a Release Agreement on August 25 to dissolve his business associations with Machine. However, neither Bowden nor the label has honored this agreement.
The Chicago rapper has taken legal action against Bowden and Machine for $20 million due to the damages he has suffered and another $20 million for material breaches, totaling an impressive $40 million. Additionally, G Herbo is demanding full ownership of his music, as well as the recognition and enforcement of the Release Agreement.
G Herbo's latest project, "Strictly 4 My Fans 2," was released on April 28 under the banner of Machine Entertainment Group/150 Dream Team.
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges G Herbo has faced in recent months. On July 28, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to federal officials in relation to his $1.5 million credit card fraud case. As part of his plea deal, he admitted to personally stealing $139,878 from his victims and will be required to reimburse the stolen funds, as confirmed by the Department of Justice and the Chicago Tribune.