Tupac Shakur’s estate is in hot water, slapped with a $5 million lawsuit claiming the late rapper’s 1996 track “White Man’z World” illegally sampled a speech by Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad. The suit, filed this week by Muhammad’s estate, says the song—featured on The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory—lifted a chunk of a 1993 lecture from the Black Holocaust Nationhood Conference without permission. Muhammad, a key figure in the Nation of Islam and New Black Panther Party, is at the heart of this legal battle.
The lawsuit doesn’t stop at Tupac’s estate. It also names Suge Knight, Interscope Records, Death Row Records, Universal’s publishing arm, and producer Darryl “Big D” Harper, accusing them all of cashing in on Muhammad’s words. Released just weeks after Tupac’s fatal shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996, The Don Killuminati is a hip-hop classic, and “White Man’z World” is now under fire for its uncredited use of the activist’s voice.
According to AllHipHop, Muhammad’s estate argues his speech added serious emotional and political punch to the track. They claim Tupac’s team never asked for a license, gave credit, or paid a dime—and the song’s still raking in profits on streaming platforms today. “His presence on ‘White Man’z World’ reinforces Tupac Shakur’s role as not just an artist, but as a voice for Black empowerment and resistance against oppression,” said lawyer Malik Z. Shabazz. He added that Muhammad’s words gave the song “undeniable authenticity,” turning it into a “revolutionary message against racial injustice” at a time when hip-hop was shaping Black youth culture.
The complaint isn’t messing around—it’s demanding a ban on further use of Muhammad’s voice, attorney fees, and the seizure of infringing materials. If they win, “White Man’z World” could vanish from Spotify, Apple Music, and beyond. For now, the fight’s just beginning, and it’s a clash that could rewrite how we hear one of Tupac’s most powerful tracks.
