Jay-Z and his reps are embroiled in a legal dispute over Roc Nation's branding. Iconix Brand has filed a trademark suit against Jay-Z and his company filings because the Roc logo got slapped on a bunch of MLB apparel, without their say-so. In return, Jay-Z is countersuing Iconix on the grounds that their claims are completely unsubstantiated. Since both sides remain at a deadlock, the court has no choice but to elect an independent arbitrator to choose one "complaint" as the point of conversation and work from there.
The problem is, Jay-Z remains unsatisfied with the shortlist of candidates. According to a report obtained by TMZ, the list of candidates for the arbitrator role lacks diversity. In layman's terms, the list is oversaturated by "White Men."
When TMZ first broke the story, it was said that Iconix Brand paid a lump sum of $204 million to secure exclusive merchandising rights for the Roc Nation logo. Both sides, Roc Nation and Iconix have agreed in principle, to settle the dispute over the "unsanctioned MLB merch" out of court, and through an independent arbitrator, this should come as no surprise.
According to the same court documents, the initial mock-up contained 200 candidates, none of which were "Black." After Jigga mounted his first complaint six candidates of color were added to the waiver, but the Roc Nation is assuredly set in his ways: "More time and more "Black" arbitrators, no ifs, ands or buts.
