Future is facing a new legal battle — and this one’s tied to the roots of Southern Hip-Hop. The Atlanta rapper has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit for allegedly using a photo of the Dungeon Family house without permission on his chart-topping project Mixtape Pluto and related merchandise.
According to Billboard, photographer Garey C. Gomez filed the lawsuit, claiming that Future and his affiliated companies — Titol Retail, LLC and Wilburn Holding Company, Inc. — used his image of the historic Dungeon Family house on the album cover and merchandise sold online and in stores.
Gomez says he discovered the alleged infringement in October 2023 and reached out to Future’s team to negotiate a resolution, but no agreement was ever reached. The complaint alleges that Gomez never licensed the photograph or received any payment for its use.
He’s now seeking monetary damages, profits generated from the artwork, and a court order to prevent further use of the image, accusing Future’s team of willful copyright infringement and false copyright management information.
“Mixtape Pluto” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking Future’s third chart-topping project of 2024. The album drew praise for returning to the gritty sound of his early mixtape era and served as a tribute to the late Rico Wade and the legendary Dungeon Family collective.
The Dungeon, located in East Point, Georgia, holds a sacred place in Hip-Hop history. It was the basement studio in the home of Rico Wade’s mother — and became the birthplace of OutKast, Goodie Mob, and Organized Noize’s most defining work. The space is widely credited with shaping the sound of Southern rap in the 1990s.
In 2019, Big Boi of OutKast purchased the property to preserve its legacy as a cornerstone of Atlanta music culture.
While “Mixtape Pluto” was meant to honor that legacy, the lawsuit claims that Future’s use of the photo crossed legal lines. As of now, neither Future nor his team have publicly commented on the case.
