Funk legend George Clinton is taking legal action to reclaim what he says has been wrongfully taken from him, filing a $100 million lawsuit against music executive Armen Boladian and his companies, including Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records.
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Filed on March 11 in a Florida district court, the lawsuit alleges fraud, copyright infringement, and breach of fiduciary duty, with Clinton’s team calling it a “decades-long scheme” to deny him rightful ownership and royalties.
“When you’re young and just starting out in the music industry, it’s easy for others to take advantage of you,” Clinton said in a statement, “My eyes are wide open now, and I look forward to shining a light on the truth and the exploitation of musicians.”
Now in his 80s, the Parliament-Funkadelic frontman is fighting not just for himself, but for his family and future generations. Clinton has enlisted civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the DiCello Levitt firm to lead his case.
At a press conference, held at the Apollo Theatre on the same day the lawsuit was filed, Clinton made it clear this battle is personal.
“The songs we’re talking about, that’s my history. That’s what I’ve been about all my life,” he said at the presser. “They’re my babies, so I have to fight for them. I have to make sure my family gets what’s due to them.”
Clinton tied his music’s significance to his early days.
“These songs were inspired by those trips to the Apollo Theater, watching Frankie Lymon, Jackie Wilson, and the Heartbeats. We don’t have a chance to pass down 40 acres and mules to our families. We don’t even have rights to the copyrights from the songs I’ve done.”
The lawsuit, according to Rolling Stone, details how Boladian allegedly took control of nearly 90% of Clinton’s music catalog during two periods: from 1968 to 1975 and again from 1981 to 1991.
According to the complaint, Boladian engaged in deceptive tactics, including withholding royalties, adding fictitious songwriters to Clinton’s publishing rights, and making unauthorized deals.
The “Atomic Dog” singer says he often discovers his songs in films and TV shows only after hearing them himself — never receiving compensation.
“To make sure that Armen does not get all that we worked so hard for — the historical moment that the funk has brought, the Mothership in the Smithsonian — he can’t have that,” Clinton said. “They can’t rewrite history and take that from us.”
Crump framed the lawsuit as a larger fight for Black artists exploited by the music industry.
“Armen didn’t write one song from George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic. He didn’t play one instrument. He didn’t produce one track. So why should he get all of the royalties from these Black artists?” Crump said.
Clinton, whose net worth is estimated at $4 million, has had an outsized impact on music.
He pioneered a new sound in the 1970s, blending funk with science fiction themes. His 1982 solo debut Computer Games helped shape hip-hop and G-funk. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
This is not the first legal fight between Clinton and Boladian. In the mid-1990s, a district court judge determined that Clinton had not signed the document Boladian used to register his copyright claims. Boladian later admitted in a sworn declaration that he had altered a 1982 agreement with Clinton and added songs to it. Despite this, Boladian retained control over Clinton’s catalog, winning a Florida court case in the early 2000s.
When asked why Clinton waited until now to file this lawsuit, Crump said timing was critical.
“This is happening to people from our community, and everything is about being strategic. It’s a game of chess, not checkers,” Crump explained. “We’ve seen the chessboard, we’ve visualized the moves, and right now is the time for George Clinton to get justice.”
Boladian’s attorney, Richard Busch, dismissed the lawsuit, telling Rolling Stone, “This is just the latest in a series of lawsuits that Mr. Clinton has filed against Bridgeport and Armen Boladian over the last 30 years. He has lost each time, including in the very courthouse in which he has filed this latest lawsuit.”
For Clinton, the fight transcends personal gain — it’s about protecting the legacy of artists who built the music industry.
“I will continue to speak truth to power and fight against the forces that have separated so many young creators from their music,” Clinton stated. “I encourage all artists to investigate, interrogate, litigate, unseal, and reveal. If we don’t get this right, they win, and I refuse to let them win.”
He added, “This is about passing down generational wealth from our intellectual property.”
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