Hustle & Flow
In 2005, Howard starred in the film alongside Taraji P. Henson, Ludacris, and Anthony Anderson, among others. Howard portrayed a Memphis, TN, street hustler who was looking to change his life’s trajectory by pursuing a rap career.
The film, released by Paramount, was a box office success. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film — directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Allain — earned more than $75 million in gross receipts, court documents showed.
When reflecting on the movie’s significance in his life on Memphis’ WREG News 3, Howard shared some harsh reality checks that he asserts will be the basis for a lawsuit against Paramount.
Howard On Compensation And Residual Checks
He mentioned being paid just $12,000 for his role in the movie, and he has yet to receive royalties from the songs he performed.
“I made $12,000 for doing ‘Hustle & Flow.’ And then on top of it, what Paramount did, instead of putting my name as ‘Terrence Howard’ performing the songs. They put ‘performed by Dejay,’” Howard explained to WREG’s Alex Coleman. “Well they owned Dejay. So guess what? The performance royalties went to Paramount.”
Howard added that he plans on writing a letter and will sue in hopes of securing two decades worth of checks he’s owned.
He continued, “Terrance Howard made $12,000. That’s all I ever made from Hustle and Flow. Everything else went right back into Paramount. So now I gotta sue Paramount or send them a letter. I gotta send them a letter to say, ‘Hey, you guys owe me about 20 years worth of residuals and performance royalties.’ But I didn’t know. I was just trying to pay my rent then.”
