Photo by Erez Avissar
TMZ reports that RZA has been sued by Dutch singer Thea Van Seijen over royalties from 14 tracks the two worked on together. The singer worked with RZA on his "Afro Samurai" soundtracks, as well as the song "Baby Boy" from the 2005 Unleashed soundtrack.
Seijen claimed that RZA shorted her on her share of royalties. TMZ quotes "sources close to RZA" about the lawsuit:
"Unfortunately this is a groundless lawsuit by someone RZA had helped get off the streets, lent a helping hand to, and now thinks he’s an easy target to mark looking for money."
UPDATE: Here's a new statement from RZA's publicist:
"RZA and his entire family have done nothing but help Thea Van Seijen over the years. He even welcomed her into his home and gave her all the resources and money she needed to start a career in music (and eat!). She was a streetwalker in Sweden brought to his attention by a family member many years ago who literally pulled her off the street and encouraged her talent as a singer. I met her back then. She was eager and just trying to sing. RZA helped her by collaborating with her and put her on a handful of tracks as a 'work for hire'. Very common in the music industry. This is the second time she has tried to knock RZA down for money she isn’t owed. She is a fish out of water. She has no idea what she is doing and thinks she can build a case for herself in the media and have it hold up in court. Meanwhile, she is dragging RZA’s name through the mud conveniently positioned during a time when RZA’s film career is blossoming.
"She has no industry precedent on pay scale and to our knowledge she is not an established artist beyond the work RZA gave her a shot to shine on. She is taking legal action out of desperation and trying to use RZA again to build a name for herself. She was paid for the work she did 'for hire' and credited where it was deserved.
"I’ve seen RZA do nothing but spend money, time, and energy over the years trying to give artists like her a chance. She failed and has come back to suck the well dry again. RZA is a great man. This is what he does. He connects the dots in the universe and helps people with nothing in return. This is why we all know and love his talents. He certainly has nothing to gain by holding pennies from some random featured guest vocalist. Those tracks she worked on never had any commercial success anyway. She is trying to feed off his good name."