The estate of Khalid Muhammad has filed a lawsuit against the rights holders of 2Pac Shakur. The case concerns the unauthorized use of one of Muhammad’s speeches in Tupac’s track “White Man’z World,” featured on the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. According to sources, the lawsuit also names Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Death Row Records, and the track’s producer, Darryl “Big D” Harper, as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the song uses seven lines from a speech delivered by Muhammad in 1993 at a Black nation-building conference held in memory of the Holocaust.
Attorney Malik Z. Shabazz stated: His presence on ‘White Man’z World’ amplifies Tupac Shakur’s role not just as an artist, but as a voice for Black empowerment and resistance to oppression.
At a time when hip-hop was a driving force in shaping political discourse among Black youth, Dr. Khalid’s involvement gave ‘White Man’z World’ undeniable authenticity, turning it into more than just music—it became a revolutionary statement against racial injustice.
The late Khalid Muhammad, a former national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, passed away in 2001 due to a brain aneurysm. His speeches have been sampled in tracks by Ice Cube, Public Enemy, 2Pac, D’Angelo, Jean Grae, and many others.
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Tupac’s fifth studio album, was released under the name Makaveli in November 1996, nearly two months after his death.