Brooklyn rapper Mos Def has found himself in a legal battle after it has been reported he may have to pay up to $100,000 in attorney’s fees in a child support case between himself and one of the mothers to his six children.
Born Yasiin Bey, the 49-year-old has six children with four different women. He is scheduled to appear on Erykah Badu’s upcoming tour where much of the funds he earns may be forked over to Karima Sorel, the woman demanding the money.
Court records show Sorel, who is based in Paris, wants $88,602.63 she believes is owed to her. Instead of going through Mos Def, her legal team is going through Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Outback Presents LLC and BaduWorld Inc to receive the funds.
Her attorneys have further requested that a Manhattan judge require the judgment against Bey and enforce the companies and tour backers to redirect the earnings he will make while on tour to be given to her instead of him.
The Unfollow Me tour begins Sunday in San Antonio and will continue throughout the course of the year. Mos Def is expected to open for Badu for all 25 shows on the tour.
“This matter arises out of protracted child support proceedings in Family Court between Karima Sorel . . . and the child’s father,” according to the Manhattan Supreme Court documents.
In 2020, Mos Def was ordered to pay Sorel’s legal fees after a Brooklyn Family Court dismissed his “persistent refusal to pay child support,” legal filings indicate.
Neither Mos Def, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Outback Presents LLC nor BaduWorld Inc has commented on the matter.
This is not the first time Mos Def has been in a child support battle. The rapper married Maria Yepes in 1996 and divorced in 2006. During divorce proceedings, Yepes alleged the Ms. Fat Booty emcee failed to pay child support, stating he only paid $2,000 of the $10,000 he was expected to pay for their two daughters.
