Battle over Unauthorized Tupac CD hits charts

In His Own Words, an unauthorized album featuring a radio interview with Tupac Shakur and two unreleased tracks by the slain gangsta rapper, hit #127 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week, but representatives of his estate and people who appear on the recording are far from happy about it. In fact, some say they are feeling downright litigious. Donald David, an attorney for the late rapper's estate, said on Thursday (July 30) that he had sent a cease-and-desist order to Mecca Records, the Encino, Calif.-based company that released the CD. According to David, this is not the first time someone has attempted to release the interview. He sent a similar cease-and-desist order earlier this year to a different group that was trying to release the interview on a much more limited basis, David said. "We just learned recently through a press release about this disc," David said, "so we sent [Mecca Records] a cease-and-desist order as well." Mecca Records could not be reached for comment by press time.