Daniel Martin, also known as "Dank," of Klosed Custody Records, hit up Wayward to spill his version of the events that led to his Topeka record label to file a lawsuit against Tech N9ne and Strange Music for allegedly using Klosed Custody's talent, Brandon "Bizzy" Evans, without paying credit or management percentages to Klosed Custody. (Strange Music isn't saying much, but it has disputed the allegations and vowed to fight back in court.)
According to Martin, Klosed Custody Records was a project that came from eight years spent in the Texas prison system for attempted murder and aggravated robbery. "As bad as that place was, it made me a better man. I spell Klosed with a K and custody with the C, out of respect for Kansas City," he says. (The lawsuit, however, says that "Klosed Kustody," not Klosed Custody, is suing Tech N9ne and Strange Music.)
"I've known Bizzy since 2005," says Martin, referring to a rapper, Brandon Evans, who is signed to his label. "He saw I was bringing Lil Wayne, Weebie, and Dem Franchise to Topeka in May of 2006 and started coming to the studio. We had a good relationship. I made him an official member of Klosed Custody in September 2008. After his album came out, things only got better, but after I introduced him to Tech, he got strange on me!"
Martin met Tech N9ne in 2005, after Martin was released from prison. "I met Tech through a promoter named Baja Ali (Nook) 4 Block Ent. He's Tech's brother's cousin. He took me to Tech's video shoot for the Bubble song ["Bout 'Ta Bubble"]. Tech and I exchanged numbers because I was getting back in the music scene after an eight-year hiatus," Martin says.
"I never had any type of relationship with Tech," Martin says. "I saw [Tech] again on January 16, 2010, and gave him a Bizzy Get Right or Get Left CD and asked him to listen to it and get on a track with Bizzy or Ko Streetz. I then called Bizzy and told him to come to Cabaret's in Topeka to meet Tech and introduced Bizzy to Tech as my artist."
According to Martin, this is when Bizzy began to work with Tech without his label's knowledge. "I never got Bizzy featured on 'Loud' or 'Sex To The Beat'! It was all done behind my back after I introduced them," Martin says.
"The reason I'm suing Tech and Strange Music is because Tech knew that Bizzy was signed to my label and used his superior name, recognition and established position in the music industry to induce Bizzy to repeatedly violate his contract," Martin says.
"At the end of the day, I'm a man, whether I'm locked up, on the block or in this music industry. Nobody is going to take anything away from me and me not do anything," says Martin. And he has a message for readers, too: "And for all the idiots posting comments on The Pitch: It shows what kinda heart you got!"
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A $25K lawsuit for a mixtape that sold 17K units by someone who used to represent an artist that has 1/3rd of 1/2 contributions on 1/10th of the material on that mixtape? Makes one wonder, did your lawyer get his degree from Hogwart's? The math works against you.
Youngest rapper dont make you the best..I'm a producer, dont even spit and I could embarass you. Plus you think y'all gunna get somethin outta this? Strange is an at least 18 million dollar a year label..they got the cheddar to go and get a good lawyer your broke as "manager/label owner" aint gettin y'all a lawyer to get you out of this.
Running a label out of your own house doesnt count, Bud. Cant really be considered a deal just because some guy who thinks he has a legit label wants to put you under contract.
and way to throw your "artist" under the bus too. Hes prolly the only artist yall got thats worth a fuck and you fucked it up. smart biz move
Who have you worked with thats bigger than tech? Tech has worked with pac, twista, wayne, em, ice cube, roger troutman, yukmouth, E-40 and more those cats i named are fuckin legends. You and your dumbass manager/wanna be label owner need to move on. if your runnin your label out of your house and you gotta little mic and a business card and call yourself a label im sorry but that shit dont count! I respect people who try to grind that way though nothin wrong with it, but dude needs to quit actin like tech took somethin from him....He asked tech to work with yall and then when he did he gets sued? What the fuck...he asked him to do something that would violate bizzy's contract..what a bitch!
I'm Dj Youngtree, co-host of the Morning Madness Live TV Show. We have asked that all parties involved with the lawsuit make an appearance on the show for discussion and answer any questions. The first to respond is Dank Martin of Klosed Custody records. He will be live on the Morning Madness this Friday 8-10 (cst) on Ustream. If anyone would like to comment or submit a question, there is a chat room during the broadcast on the ustream page. We also have a show page on Facebook with links to the show. Last week's show was very tense as the label that Bizzy claims to be on now, FBS, was logged in at the same time Klosed Custody was logged in. So, all the "comment posting idiots" can interact live with Dank this Friday!
lil seuss lmao u lil hoo-ville ass nigga u aint bout shit! GET EM!!! u cat hat ass, horton hears a hoo grinch look'n ass nigga! GET EM!!! U ol 1 fish 2 fish, red fish blue fish ass non rap'n ass nigga!!!! watch out dank mite rape your lil ass he likes em yung!!! lmfao
I realize it's the internet, but learn how to fucking spell, you sound like a fucking retard
u dont know me nigga. and really u just actin hard on a computer dat aint no real nigga shit, if u said dat shit to my face you would get yo noodles knocked pussy
This is personal.
It kills me how Kansas City cats are talking shit on Topeka cats. While at the same time cats from the “Lou” are saying that KC cats are busters, and Chi-town cats are calling cats from the Lou “bama’s” and L.A. cats are calling Chi-towner’s country ass and New Yorkers are saying L.A. cats are soft. Meanwhile someone, somewhere in Africa, Jamaica, Haiti or some other third world country is saying that none of you pussies would survive even one day in my shoes in my situation.
My point is this it’s not where you are from, it’s not even where you at. It is how you act. I have seen good people in the Top, but I also have seen Hustlers, Killers and snitches. Same thing here in K.C. just a bigger population. Broke is broke. Lack of education and employment makes those in need do monstrous things regardless of the location.
Basically I am begging that everyone posting on here just let it be internet beef. Let this situation be handled in the courts. Both businesses are going to handle this in the courts, it’s those on the sideline that will escalate this into actual violence and that would be a shame.
The sound of a mother morning the death of her child is the same on 12th street in Pine Ridge as it is on 12th street in T.B. Watkins.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!
I am from “The Town” (Topeka aka T-Town) and moved to “The City” (KCMO) 10 years ago. Unfortunately this is escalating beyond two compainies and is growing toward a possible dangerous situation on the I-70 Corridor.
Never met Tech, never bought or downloaded even one song and have heard only about 10 songs of his. But I have to give him props because since I first listened to the song Questions I knew he was extremely talented and the truth (lyrically).
I have never heard any of Klosed Custody's material, but I know Dank from way back in the high school days. While I have never broke bread with the man or kicked it, whenever we crossed paths he was always cool people.
What bothers me most about this situation is how things have turned to personal attacks towards Dank when this is really about the business. First KC cats were throwing darts at the Top, and then Top cats started throwing back. But still this should be about the business. Dank and Klosed Custody have a responsibility to protect their investment. If not why even go into business? Why invest money and execute contracts in the first place if it is not about the business?
There are people on both sides that are having a pissing contest in an effort to rep their city. But a lot of this is just emotions, because if they had any business sense they would understand the situation better. In the legal world there are terms like "known or should have known". Even if Tech didn't notice Bizzy until the Krizz Kaliko show, the conversation had to have come up or Strange Music could have discovered through due diligence (research) that Bizzy had contractual obligations. Hence they “KNEW” or” SHOULD HAVE KNOWN” that Bizzy was associated/signed with Klosed Custody.
Do you really think that if Tech went and congratulated Bizzy after he performed at the Kaliko show that Bizzy didn't say, "Thanks" and "remember when I met you at the Cabaret in Topeka". You know in your heart if a rapper is really grinding to get on, he damn sure brought it up that he had met him before. Even if Tech was gone off the K.C. Tea, cushed out and thizzin he is gonna remember the situation even if he didn't remember the specifics.
I know Evil-Loc (Mean Mugg Records) is thorough with his lyrics and his grind so both he and Dank had to be politicking at the time that picture was taken. Do you really think that when a heavy-weight of the indie game is around, that a hustler isn't trying to build? Of course he is. SO YOU KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that Dank made Tech aware that Bizzy was represented by Klosed Custody. Just saying Tech “knew” or “should have known” and Dank is doing what he is supposed to do by protecting his product.
It's business not personal
Uhhh....what? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph am I embarrassed to be from Chicago right now. Good christ man. Take a few college courses, learn how to write properly, and then speak on this. I am amazed you read the article. Chief of the what now? Please move as far away from Chicago as you possibly can. Not Kansas City though, I visit there and would like to avoid mongoloids like yourself.
TOP=Taint Over Pussy, Typical Ovulating Punks, Terrified Of Prosecutors, Tired Old Pimps, Tons Of Pharamones
Hey beekeeper Tech's visit to Riker's to see Wayne was nothing like your visits to see Dank in the Pen. Business deals were done. You homos prolly pissed in eachothers mouths! Im from the TOP and I can't stand yall faggots. Ran into Dank at the club tried to say what up and he blew me off like he was big shit.
Everybody gets what they deserve...
Come down here and say it yourself pussy!!! We know the real KC Street King and he a real nigga! You probably from Lawerence! And hang out with those other pussy's from gay boy produtions. Everybody talking tough behind a computer.
Yeah, I saw your video on youtube. I get it...the point is that you SUCK ASS at rapping and you are defending your ass cousin who let's you claim you are on the label. PS I fucked your mom.
omg did of you kc people actually read the lawsuit??? That shit is too funny. It's like it was written by a high school kid. Wait that's too nice. It's written like it was produced by a high school kid in the Topeka school system. lol
My old friend told me about this article and I was reading through the comments and I don't normally do the whole "Web" thing, but I had to bring Mr. Zookeeper here into the reality of what is happening here.
I worked with Travis for a long time. NO WAY he is settling this. He prides himself in being being a righteous individual who has worked hard to establish his name as a business owner who is fair and honest in his dealings. He won't settle out of court. NO WAY. He takes his reputation personal and is relentless in his quest to keep his name clean.
May God be with you Daniel, you are going to need Him
S
You dudes is making this out to be a Topeka vs Kc thing AND IT'S NOT!!! It's about Dank and Tech coming to some sort of agreement. For any one to go at Tech or Dank in a violent way IS STRAIGHT OUT DUMB. Let them and the lawyers handle this! You whiteboy's and nigga's and who ever else needs to stop with the bullshit before it gets outta hand.
You obviously have NOT been to KC. The City will not stand for this bullshit PERIOD
Thanks for your input, chief of the 4 whatever the fuck. Guess what, this isn't your city. KC sticks together like Chi town USED to. The Chi fell off a long time ago, when greed and jealousy took your people by storm. Topeka is a weak lil town with less people than the college towns around here. Speak on what you know. Topeka's whole city is known for being weasels. People who got shunned from their own city so they had to move on to a place where nobody knows their name. Or, heaven forbid, they were born there and then they are just flat retarded inbreds destined for 8 years in the Pen and bad legal counseling. 'Dank' isn't standing up for anything. Let's get that straight. Dank is trying to bullshit his way into some money. If you see this as some sort of David vs. Goliath deal then you are delusional. Strange is and respects the 'Davids' of the industry. Strange probably would've given 'Dank' any advice or counseling that he needed to start a LEGIT business. Which, he obviously doesn't run. Nobody owes anything to anybody. The only thing that is about to be owed is a THANK YOU AND A HAVE A NICE day. When 'Crank' takes this embarrassment in the courtroom and goes back to Topeka trying to put his life back together again (for the 2nd time mind you). DANK YOU ARE NOT SUGE KNIGHT SON! Bobby stay rooted in CHI business, and quit trying to defend your whack ass cousin that ya'll used to make fun of back in the day
Raining Dog Chief of the FUCKaYOU TRIBE
KC
Hey Pitch, awesome. Let's keep reporting on individuals who are slandering the good name of the only local record label worth a damn. Giving spotlight to people who were in prison for attempted murder and robbery? Seriously?
A convict suing Tech N9ne and Strange Music? Cm'n son. Tech takes the time to put a little shine on KC artists and help out and this is what he gets in return? A frivolous lawsuit from someone looking for a handout. Ridiculous. Go back to prison.
I'am from Chicago,and I see alote of week niggas on here with fake names and shit if you a real man you'll put your name on here i see alote of weak niggas on here. My thing is this in Chicago we beef in the streets but if something goes down we stick together i see alote of hattin ass niggas on here hattin on a nigga that is coming from your city that just tells you how many weak niggas live in Topeka if you have a problem with a man say it to his face when you see him not on a computer in the comfort of your on home. The nigga Dank is standing up for his self his label and TopCity,ask your self this question would you let somebody do it to you.If you have a problem get at me Bobby Evans Chief of the 4ch Chicago
Yall niggas tripping. Born and raised out the top. Love my chiefs my jayhawks and my wildcats. Love my state love my city but u rappers round here talking bout studio gangsters and real gangsters. Real niggas keep there mouth shut. Real niggas do real things. Not start beef on someone's bullshit ass blog. Fucking clowns. From kc to Topeka we to close to be doing anything but getting paper together.
well well well...welcome to the conversation Zookeeper. Good to know that SOMEONE in Topeka can form an intelligent thought. It's also good to know that someone is coming to Dank's defense that is of legal age to VOTE hahaha.
Truth is this lawsuit didn't hurt my feelings, and I've been a Tech fan since the beginning. What hurts my feelings is that Dank's faggot ass thinks that ANYONE in this discussion was dumb enough to believe that he wasn't the one posting under all of those different names. "Dank has done shows with artists way bigger than Tech...he brought Wayne to Topeka"? What does that have to do with working with them? Congratulations, you can promote a show and pay an artist to come and get CDs thrown at him, and leave after 4 songs. That's classy Topeka for you...i digress...
On Tech visiting Wayne at Rikers...Are you implying that Tech and Wayne did some gay shit??? WOULD YOU TOPEKA PEOPLE PLEASE STOP BRINGING GAY SHIT IN THIS????? Just because Dank is a closet homosexual doesn't give you the right to bring gay shit into every comment. Dank is NOT a smart businessman, he is a fucking idiot. And there is no way Strange is settling this matter, did you even read the statement? Yall are getting smashed regardless of your twisted biased perception of the situation is leading you to believe.
I will be toasting some Dank and laughing my ass off when i hear the results of this situation...
Thanks for you input Zookeeper, now you can go back to cleaning up elephant shit which soon will be a fitting metaphor for Dank's Career
YES WE IN KC CALL WICHITA AND TOPEKA TAINT CITIES CAUSE ITAINT KC AND ITAINT LAWRENCE!!! HAHAHA ANY CITY IS WHACK IF A DANK IS IN IT HAHAHA
Ok, here we go…
Suess – you’re 16 – did your mom sign your “record deal” paperwork for you? Just checking. Lil Seuss? Seriously? I wouldn’t worry about you beating anything, unless it’s your own dick, and from the sound of your posts, you’d be lucky to find that. I’m a bitch? Aren’t you late for social studies? That is, if you’re still in school – you might’ve already dropped out to pursue your obviously lucrative rap career. If I’m using words that are too big for you, I’m sure you know a grown up that can help you look them up. You know what? Nobody knows anything about your “label, music, artists, accomplishments” because there’s nothing to know – that’s why you keep trying to talk yourself up here. You got your name from a children’s author…and you’re 16 and from reading your posts, probably still in the 8th grade. I hope your mom reads this and grounds you for being this ignorant, then you can be on the kiddie version of “hiatus” too. You also stated, in a super-helpful post later on, that “Bizzy Betrayed, disrespected and stole money from the label. Went against his contract and Now he gota pay the price” – I won’t even start on your horrible sentence structure, spelling and incorrect capitalization (oops, sorry I forgot who I’m talking to, let me rephrase that – I won’t talk ill about your bad spelly spells) – but you’re basically backing a lot of people’s beliefs that this lawsuit is ill-focused on the wrong party. If BIzzy did all this, then why would your “label” (a term I’m using very loosely in this context) try and hold Tech N9ne responsible?
Quote this Lil Suess – a poem** for you:
You’re a moron, this is really true
I’d use bigger words, but those aren’t for you.
16 years old and it’s plain to see
still waiting to find out about puberty.
Lil Suess is your name and that makes me sick
Probably cause we know you like green eggs and dick
You wanna show up and talk all this shit
Still trying to go get that learner’s permit
I’m not even a rapper and it’s easy to see
You’ve already got a worse label deal than me.
You’re making threats, not making fans
it’s tough to be hard in your mom’s minivan.
**please note, this poem is copyright me, Jon McClain (2011) and if anyone tries to use it, that will violate the terms of my contract and then I’ll have to frivolously sue you!
And Bud – you state “y’all could only dream of the shit he been through” – really? We could all only dream of being locked up for 8 years in the Texas prison system, learning how to suck dick, getting out, growing a horrificly bad goatee and filing frivolous law suits? Please, stop wasting the time of the public library’s internet and go home.
Will everyone still think the lawsuit is frivolous when the lawsuit is settled? Why does it have to be Topeka vs KC? To my knowledge Dank spends most of his time in Wichita. Does everyone want to start trashing Wichita? I know this lawsuit hurt a lot of people's feelings being that they think Tech is a God. Fact of the matter is that Bizzy was signed and Tech & Strange knew it. I will be toasting with Dank when the money comes in. Chump change though. Matter of fact, I bet Dank spends it all in one night at Sports Cabaret. Dank has done shows with artists way bigger than Tech. He brought Lil Wayne to Topeka. Lil wayne did 4 songs and left after he pulled a gun on VV for throwing CDs at him. Ya'll lames know VV right? And isn't Tech all on Wayne's dick? Flew out to Rikers to spend quality time with him. It was supposed to be a short conjugal visit, but turned out to be a very personal 4 hours. Nobody is speaking on all that. Dank is a smart business man and is going about trying to get his money legally. Rumor is that Strange has offered to settle for two thirds of what Dank is asking. Does that sound like an "ass whooping in court"? No, it sounds like smart advice coming from Strange legal counsel. As I said, cheers!
I roll blunts bigger than yo lil ass homie 23 years in the KC Streets, I gotta rap longer than your ass homie.
I GET THE FEELING THESE DUDES HATIN ON MY CITY....SMH...YOU CAN SAY BUSINESS IS BUSINESS BUT MY CITY IS MY HEART. BRING YOUR LIL CHOMO ASS CREW BACK EAST AND SEE WHATS HATTNIN. KC STAND UP!
HE LOOKS LIKE AN ASS CLOWN BECAUSE HE WAS RAISED IN THE TOP CITY TRAVELING DIPSHITS TOPEKA PEOPLE ARE SOOOOO DUMB LOL
First off big ups to dank. Second none of y'all know wat went down. And y'all talk about how he spell the label. How many of y'all got a label better yet how many got a deal? Don't worry ill wait...... biz go hard but he ain't did no real shows til he got wit dank. Which brings me back to dank. Y'all talkin bout how he look and u don't even know y. Lol y'all could only dream of the shit he been through.
A picture of you two together proves nothing in terms of when an agreement was made you RETARDED cock sucker! You're getting SLAMMED in the court room homie! lol! Whatever dipshit lawyer thought this was a good idea is FUCKING RETARDED. You have NO case man. Tell me this, who is your lawyer? what bootsie ass degree did they get? Anyone with sense would've told you this was a horrible idea. But then again, you were just hoping for a settlement huh? hahaha DUMBASS no turning back now hahaha
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