The producer behind Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule's 1998 track "Murdergram" has filed a lawsuit against Mike Tyson for his allegedly unauthorized use of the song in an Instagram video promoting his bout against Jake Paul in November 2024.
As reported by Billboard, prolific producer Tyrone Fyffe, who also goes by the name Sugarless, is suing the boxer over the use of "Murdergram" in the since-deleted 33-second Instagram video. Fyfee co-wrote and produced the track, but Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule are not involved with the lawsuit against Tyson. The song was recorded as the since-defunct super-defunct supergroup Murder Inc., and appeared in the 1998 film Streets Is Watching.
While the post is no longer available to view, the lawsuit contains screenshots of the video, which Tyson captioned, "You know what time it is #PaulTyson."
"Neither plaintiff nor any of his representatives granted defendant Tyson permission to use the song title ‘Murdergram’ to promote his boxing match with Jake Paul," the lawsuit reads. "By listing the song title ‘Murdergram’ on his Instagram post, defendant Tyson misled viewers to believe that plaintiff endorsed, or was affiliated or associated with, him and/or his participation in the match."
Fyffe highlighted in the complaint that Tyson was reportedly paid over $20 million for his participation in the fight, and the video using "Murdergram" helped the highly anticipated fight break Netflix viewing records. He is seeking a portion of Tyson's profits from the bout and is requesting royalties for the use of "Murdergram."
"Defendant Tyson’s conduct was intentional, willful and with full knowledge of plaintiff’s copyright in the song,” the lawsuit reads. “As a consequence of defendant Tyson’s infringement, plaintiff has suffered, and will continue to suffer, economic losses and damage to his copyright in the song.” Additionally, Fyffe wants to block Tyson from using the song again.
The case isn't the only lawsuit to come from Tyson's fight against Paul. Last year, Florida resident Ronald "Blue" Denton filed a lawsuit against Netflix over its failure to adequately livestream the match to all of its viewers. Denton claimed that viewers were immediately "faced with legendary problems, including: no access, streaming glitches, and buffering issues." He sued the streaming platform for breach of contract and sought unspecified damages.
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