Prince’s estate moved on Wednesday to block the release of several decade-old tracks, casting a cloud over commemorations of the pop legend’s passing.
An independent label had announced plans to release a six-track EP of Prince songs, entitled Deliverance, on Friday which marks one year since The Purple One’s sudden death.
But Prince’s estate, which is led by his siblings, quickly intervened and accused Ian Boxill, a sound engineer who recorded the tracks with the pop legend between 2006 and 2008, of violating an agreement.
“Mr Boxill is now trying to exploit the Prince recordings unlawfully in his possession,” said a lawsuit filed in a Minnesota court.
The estate said Boxill had signed a confidentiality agreement that the music would “remain Prince’s sole and exclusive property.”
Boxill, who has worked with an array of artists including slain rap great Tupac Shakur, sent a reply that was sealed by the court.
In a statement announcing the music, Boxill said most proceeds would go to Prince’s estate and that the pop legend would have appreciated the independent release.
“I believe Deliverance is a timely release with everything going on in the world today, and in light of the one-year anniversary of his passing,” he said in the statement.
The first track, a rock ballad also called Deliverance, came out late on Tuesday with the five other songs scheduled to be released digitally on Friday.
Boxill said a CD release was planned in June.
Prince died on April 21 last year at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers.
The 57-year-old - long considered a model of health who refrained from drugs, alcohol and junk food - died without leaving a will, setting off messy court disputes over the fate of his fortune.
