Master P Faces $10 Million Suit Over Mia X Contract Dispute

Master P and No Limit Records are facing a $10 million lawsuit filed by a producer and label exec who claims that he was coerced by P and his associates into releasing Mia X from a contract he had with the female rapper.

According to a report that surfaced in New Orleans' "The Times-Picayune," the suit was filed last month in a federal district court by Roy Joseph, who says he signed Mia X to a two-year deal with his old label, Emoja Records, back in 1994. (The contract was then folded into a new deal with Joseph's subsequent label, Slaughter House Records.)

While discussing the lawsuit, Edward Haskins, an attorney for No Limit Records, dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous and pointed out that the judge's most recent ruling in the case struck down certain elements and language used in the suit for being potentially defamatory and slanderous in nature.

In the lawsuit, Joseph says that an associate of Master P's threatened to ruin his fledgling label unless Joseph withdrew his claim on Mia X's contract.

Mia X signed with P's No Limit Records in 1995, but didn't release her first solo album for the label, "Unlady Like," until 1997. A second album for No Limit, "Mama Drama," was issued in November 1998.

Because of the vitriolic nature of the language used in the suit, a U.S. District Court judge recently sealed the records pertaining to the action and placed a temporary gag order on the parties involved.

The judge has also ordered Joseph to amend his complaint to include more specific details about the racketeering practices allegedly used by Master P, and has given Joseph until mid-July to file the more explicit complaint.