Madlib is suing his former manager, Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, who is the former general manager of Stones Throw Records and founder of Now-Again Records. The suit was filed on Thursday, Oct. 31, in Los Angeles and accuses Alapatt of “rank self-dealing,” “engaging in persistent and pervasive mismanagement,” and unduly profiting from his involvement in Madlib’s business affairs. The producer and rapper notably filed his lawsuit on the fourth anniversary of his Madvillainy collaborator MF Doom’s death.
According to the suit, Alapatt allegedly inserted his own Now-Again Records label as a “middle man” between Madlib and their shared Madicine Show company, and has used Now-Again to take fees “off the top of income generated by the sale and distribution of Madicine Show’s recorded music.”
The suit also claims that Alapatt took complete control of Madlib’s business ventures and finances but refused to provide transparent accounting records. The filing states: “A forensic accounting commissioned by Madlib … revealed several accounting irregularities as well as a lack of any backup documentation for, among other things, payments to [Alapatt], [codefendant Jeffrey Carlson] and others as ‘consulting,’ ‘commissions,’ ‘fees’ or ‘reimbursements’ (totaling in the several hundred thousands of dollars), the majority of inbound deposits to the two entities’ bank accounts (totaling in the several millions of dollars).”
As Variety points out, Alapatt was also sued in 2023 by MF Doom’s widow Jasmine Dumile Thompson, who claimed Alapatt exploited the late rapper’s 2010 move to the UK to obtain ownership of 31 notebooks containing unreleased lyrics and songs. Though Alapatt obtained these materials legally, Thompson argues that DOOM, who passed away in 2020, would have wanted them kept private. Attorneys for Alapatt have dismissed the claims as “baseless and libelous.”
Alapatt was general manager of Stones Throw from 2000 to 2011. During that time, the indie released numerous influential albums by artists such as J Dilla, Aloe Bacc, DāM FunK, and Georgia Anne Muldrow, plus Madlib collaborative side projects like Quasimoto, Jaylib, and Madvillain. Alapatt has not yet responded to Madlib’s claims.
