Ma Dukes Can't Use Her Own Son's Name Or Likeness

In 2006, extremely influential independent hip hop produce J Dilla died after a long bout with lupus. Dilla, whose real name is James Yancey, was one of the most influential artists in what many refer to as the underground. However, he had worked with people from the A-list all the way down to the C- and D-list. There is a large contingent of artists who consider him to be the best (or at least among the best) hip hop producer of all time. I personally don't feel that way, but the list who does includes people like Roots drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Busta Rhymes.

Anyway, earlier this summer, news came out that Dilla's estate was working feverishly on trying to put a stop to the massive amount of bootlegging going on with the Dilla's works in order to help pay off a particularly lofty sum back to the federal government. It appears, however, that they've stooped so much to disallow Dilla's mother, who is often referred to as Ma Dukes, from using her own son's name and likeness. She's been trying to establish a foundation, which was one of her late son's final wishes.

In a wide-ranging interview with LA Weekly, she breaks down the situation. It serves as a pretty powerful example of how things can go wrong after one's death...