Remember back in 1985 when Michael Jackson bought The Beatles’ catalogue under his once close friend Sir Paul McCartney’s nose? Fresh off his “Say Say Say” collabo with Jacko, Macca must've felt he was stabbed in the back for good reason. While every artist wants to sell a zillion records, the real money often lies in music publishing.

According to the Daily Swarm, Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green has purchased master recordings of 33 rare Jimi Hendrix tracks that date back to the early ‘60s. The masters are part of a 1973 settlement with the Hendrix Estate, which were held by producer Ed Chalpin, the man responsible for Hendrix’s first record deal and subsequent session recordings. Hendrix, while playing guitar in chitlin-circuit band leader Curtis Knight’s band, The Squires, signed a contract with Chalpin’s PPX Enterprises. Hendrix, thinking very little of the deal apparently, signed to a $1 and 1% royalty agreement binding him exclusively for 3 years.

Cee-Lo now plans to release some of the tracks (which might find their way into a project featuring the likes of OutKast and Goodie Mob) via his own indie imprint, Radiculture Records, and is working with a sample clearance company who will offer the tracks for film, TV and commercial licenses.

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