The estate of Notorious B.I.G. has come to an agreement with the widow of the late hip-hop photographer Chi Modu, bringing an end to the prolonged legal dispute concerning merchandise featuring Modu’s iconic photograph of the late rapper positioned in front of the World Trade Center.
In 2019, Notorious B.I.G.’s estate sued, alleging that Chi Modu had improperly granted permission for the use of his 1996 photograph of the rapper on various commercial items such as skateboards and shower curtains. In 2022, a judge determined that such merchandise probably infringed upon the rapper’s rights to his likeness.
While the details of the settlement were not revealed to the public, they were disclosed in a court filing on Thursday.
As a seasoned photographer for The Source, Chi Modu documented moments with some of hip-hop’s most prominent figures, including Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Mobb Deep, and LL Cool J. During a 1996 cover shoot for the magazine, he captured several photographs of Biggie positioned in front of the Twin Towers.
In a 2011 interview, Chi Modu mentioned that the photo shoot was influenced in part by a lyric in Biggie’s “Juicy,” where the rapper references the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center with the line “‘blow up like the World Trade.” However, in 2019, Biggie’s estate initiated legal proceedings against Modu regarding the image. The estate contended in their complaint that Modu had gone beyond simply selling the image and was attempting to profit by exploiting the rapper’s likeness, showing a complete disregard for Biggie’s rights.
