Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube are suing a merchandising company for alleged fraud.
TMZ reports that after Snoop, Cube, Too $hort and E-40 created the supergroup called Mount Westmore in 2020, they signed a licensing deal with Westside Merchandising. According to the lawsuit, the company said it could make all four artists a significant amount of money by selling merch in retail stores and at concerts.
Snoop and Cube claim that Westside didn’t share their accounting with them, and when the pair did get access to the books, they saw that the company sold $808k worth of merch at shows, over $90k in stores, and $13k online.
While the quartet was paid a large advance, they allege that Westside still owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars. They are seeking unspecified damages.
However, Westside also sued the rappers for breach of contract. In November 2024, the company claimed that the four had signed a deal stating that Westside would make the merch for their 60-date tour. According to the filing, the tour wasn’t nearly as long, with the artists only performing a few shows. Westside said it gave them over $1.3 million, but that the rappers didn’t follow through. This case is still open.
“The countersuit is full of falsehoods and fabrication, and reeks of desperation. The purpose is clearly to distract from their own fraud and contractual breaches, which are outlined very clearly in our own amended complaint,” Westside's lawyer, John Fowler, told TMZ.
“To date, the other side has lost every motion they’ve brought in this case, and they are trying to cover up the mounting losses by filing a frivolous claim. The case is simple: the other side defrauded my client out of over $1.3 million, and caused many millions more in damages for failing to perform the services they promised. The Court has repeatedly denied the other side’s attempts to shield itself from basic discovery, even accusing the opposing lawyers of 'borderline insubordination' on the record. We look forward to trying this case.”