Daz Dillinger, a former Death Row Records producer and frequent Tupac Shakur collaborator, has filed a lawsuit over unpaid royalties tied to Tupac’s catalog.
Inside the Lawsuit
Dillinger has filed a lawsuit against Amaru Entertainment, accusing the company of failing to properly pay and account for royalties tied to some of Tupac’s most iconic songs.
Amaru Entertainment manages Shakur’s post-mortem works and is currently managed by music executive Tom Whalley following the death of founder and mother of Tupac, Afeni Shakur, in 2016. Whalley is the former Warner Bros. head who originally signed Tupac to Interscope Record.
Afeni established the label in 1997 to release her son’s unreleased material. Tupac died on September 13, 1996, at the age of 25, six days after being shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Today, Tupac’s estate is estimated to be worth between $40 million and $100 million even though the artist died in debt.
According to the complaint, filed May 8 in Los Angeles federal court, Dillinger says he played a key role as a writer, producer, and performer on multiple tracks, including classics like “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” and “I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” Rolling Stone reported.
Dillinger claims he made a formal request in October 2024 for payment and detailed royalty statements. While Amaru did send a check for $91,445.27, the lawsuit argues the payment came with no real explanation nor a breakdown of which songs were included, what time periods were covered, or how the numbers were calculated.
The suit claims that without proper accounting, it’s impossible to determine whether the payment was “complete, accurate, or timely,” and alleges that additional royalties tied to licensing, streaming, and other uses of Tupac’s music are still unpaid.
Dillinger is now seeking a full financial accounting, along with damages, back pay, and a cut of any profits he believes were withheld. He’s also asking for legal fees and a jury trial.
This isn’t the first time Dillinger and the estate have clashed. There was a legal dispute in the early 2000s over unreleased recordings. That case was settled out of court.
