A collection of documents detailing the rise of Bad Boy Records are now up for auction.
The nine-page collection includes a recording contract signed by Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., as well as Wallace’s termination agreement from Uptown Records. A document confirming Arista Records’ purchase of Bad Boy is also included.
One document reveals Puff Daddy’s then-quarterly salary as $62,500, with Arista promising to contribute $150,000 per quarter towards office space and overhead. A later document also included in the collection questions where that money has been spent.
“The reason we are contributing overhead money is based on the assumption that Bad Boy will be taking certain responsibilities off our hands,” the letter from an Arista VP reads. “This leads to the questions I asked you yesterday. Who has Bad Boy hired? What are their functions? Which record company tasks is Bad Boy prepared to handle now?”
Biggie’s termination agreement from MCA Records revealed that the rapper was required to pay $326,092.91 to buy out the masters to ‘Party and Bullshit’, ‘Flip That Shit’, and other then-unreleased recordings.
The collection of documents is expected to fetch between $5000-$7000 on auction website Paddle8. Other items available on Paddle8 include a copy of NWA’s Straight Outta Compton LP signed by every member of the group and a Nirvana concert flier signed by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Courtney Love. [via Complex]
