A former Eminem worker faces federal expenses for allegedly stealing and promoting the rapper’s unreleased tracks.
Eminem is on the coronary heart of a authorized battle as former worker Joseph Unusual faces federal expenses for allegedly stealing and promoting unreleased tracks from the rapper’s non-public assortment.
Unusual, a 46-year-old former audio engineer, labored at Eminem’s Effigy recording studio in Ferndale, Michigan, from 2007 till 2021, per WWNY TV.
He faces severe federal expenses, together with legal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Authorities allege Unusual swiped greater than two dozen unreleased Eminem songs spanning almost 20 years, from 1999 by way of 2018.
The stolen tracks have been reportedly saved securely on password-protected onerous drives in a locked studio secure.
Federal prosecutors declare Unusual secretly bought the unreleased materials for round $50,000 value of Bitcoin. Among the many consumers was a Canadian particular person utilizing the net alias “Doja Rat,” who later leaked the songs publicly on platforms like Reddit and YouTube in January 2025.
The theft got here to gentle when Effigy studio staff acknowledged Eminem’s unreleased tracks circulating on-line and promptly alerted the FBI.
Federal brokers executed a search warrant at Unusual’s residence, uncovering 1000’s of audio information, handwritten lyric sheets, and even an unreleased Eminem music video.
If convicted on all expenses, Unusual may withstand 15 years behind bars—5 years for copyright infringement and an extra 10 years for interstate transportation of stolen items.
Eminem’s camp was fast to sentence the alleged betrayal. His spokesperson, Dennis Dennehy, informed Selection, “The numerous injury attributable to a trusted worker to Eminem’s creative legacy and artistic integrity can’t be overstated, not to mention the large monetary losses incurred by the numerous creators and collaborators that deserve safety for his or her a long time of labor. We’ll proceed to take any and all steps obligatory to guard Eminem’s artwork and can cease at nothing to take action.”