Drake has asked judge to ban any evidence of his wealth from an upcoming trial.
The Canadian rapper has a case between himself, a music publishing company called Hebrew Hustle, and the estate of jazz musician Jimmy Smith.
In 2014, Hebrew Hustle and Smith’s estate sued Drake for allegedly sampling a Smith song on the track “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2.” Drake countersued the company, alleging that they used his face and name on their website to imply a connection between the company and the rapper.
The trial is finally set to be heard later this year and Drake is filing motions to keep any record of his net worth out of the trial. According to The Blast, Drake filed to have all evidence of his “financial condition or comparative wealth” kept away from the jury. He worries that the information would prejudice the jury against him.
Similarly, Hebrew Hustle is hoping to bar expert testimony that Drake plans to cite in the case. Drake hopes to use the testimony to set an appropriate dollar amount for the value of his name and image. The Blast reports that the expert set the value of Drake’s affiliation at $1 million, based off of appearance fees and branding deals of other celebrities.
A judge has yet to rule on either motion.
The motion is the second time in recent weeks that Drake’s finances have appeared in a court case. Birdman recently accused Lil Wayne and his associates of creating a shell company to siphon Drake royalties away from Cash Money Records.
