First Amendment vs. contract law

The escalating legal fight between rapper-turned-mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his ex-partner Shaniqua Tompkins is putting a spotlight on an obscure but increasingly consequential legal tool in the entertainment industry: life rights agreements. Jackson, through his publishing company G-Unit Books, filed a lawsuit accusing Tompkins of breaching a 2007 contract that allegedly gave G-Unit…