Gongu “Gu” Roach Unpacks Music Industry Exploitation on The Ray Daniels Show

In an industry built on image, access, and often silence, Gongu “Gu” Roach steps forward as a rare voice—one not only willing to challenge the system, but armed with the evidence to expose it. Known as a music forensic specialist, Gu joined The Ray Daniels Show to lay bare the labyrinth of unpaid royalties, hidden fees, and deceptive contracts that have long siphoned millions from Black artists, producers, and estates.

Described by Daniels as doing “superhero work behind the scenes,” Gu’s mission is simple but bold: to uncover unpaid money in music publishing and get it back into the hands of those who earned it. From auditing major labels to helping the family of Big Pun escape homelessness, Gu’s work is as relentless as it is revelatory.

From Curiosity to Crusade

Gu’s path into royalty recovery began not with an internship at a label or a law degree, but from seeing his friends get shortchanged. “I had people in high school get record deals and sign bad contracts,” he said. “They didn’t understand publishing, and neither did I at first. But I saw the pain in their faces, and I needed to understand what was really going on.”

As he sat in on sessions and overheard industry jargon, Gu began piecing things together. He was inspired by conversations with friends who spoke over his head about copyrights and residuals. “It was like they were talking about something they didn’t have. That made me want to learn it and go get it,” he said.

He ultimately taught himself how to read royalty statements—better, he claims, than most lawyers in the business. “Lawyers have told my clients there’s nothing there. Then I come in, find the missing money, and suddenly there’s a couple million on the table,” he explained.

A Self-Taught Forensic Specialist

Gu coined his own title: music forensic specialist. “It’s like detective work. I find the fingerprints for your money,” he said. That might mean uncovering missing catalog numbers, identifying misclassified licensing revenue, or exposing deliberately vague reporting practices by major labels and publishers.

In one of his most talked-about cases, Gu helped the widow and children of Big Pun, who were living in a shelter more than a decade after the rapper’s death. He found that Pun’s publisher had been sending misleading royalty statements for years, stating the estate was still “unrecouped” despite significant income. “They were giving her fake statements every six months. From 2000 to 2014, it was a slow drip,” he said.

Eventually, Gu took the case to court—against Fat Joe’s team, multiple lawyers, and the publisher. “We won. I don’t go to court unless I know we’re going to win,” he said plainly. “I can prove when a royalty statement is fake. That’s my lane.”

A Broken System with No Incentive to Change

Throughout the interview, Gu and Daniels emphasized the structural issues plaguing the music business. “This is the only business where if you don’t ask, they won’t tell you—even if they know they owe you,” Gu said. “It’s not just about publishing. It’s about performance royalties, licensing, admin errors. Artists sign deals without understanding any of it.”

The problems aren’t limited to old contracts. Even in the streaming era, Gu sees rampant underpayment, aided by lack of transparency. He cited a case where he found a client was owed more than $900,000 a year, even though she had only been receiving $150,000. “It’s a shell game,” he said. “You’re not waiting on statements. You’re waiting on wires.”

Another issue is the so-called “distribution fee” labels charge artists, originally created to cover physical manufacturing and shipping. Today, even though music is digitally distributed with a click, Gu says the fee—typically 20%—remains. “It’s the greediest tax in music,” he said. “You’re paying for work they don’t even do anymore.”

Names, Labels, and Hidden Money

Gu didn’t shy away from calling out high-profile names and labels. He alleged that Universal owes Benzino millions and is simply refusing to pay, citing old technicalities. “They’re hiding behind red tape. It’s emotional. They’re mad he sued Eminem,” Gu said.

He also claimed he once found nearly $100,000 in unclaimed royalties for Beyoncé and contacted Roc Nation. “They said, ‘Let us know if you find more.’ It’s still sitting there,” he said. “I could’ve taken it myself.”

Gu even suggested that top-tier artists like Jay-Z and Drake are not immune. “Drake got half a billion from Universal, but now he’s burned out because they made him drop more albums to repay that,” he said. “That’s not a payout. That’s a loan.”

He revealed he’s been approached by executives and artists who want his help but are afraid to be publicly associated with him. “They don’t want to upset their labels,” he said. “They’d rather stay quiet and get shorted than cause waves.”

A Business of Pimps and Ghost Royalties

Gu described the music business as worse than predatory. “Labels aren’t just loan sharks—they’re pimps,” he said. He spoke of an estate he works with that sold 70 million records worldwide but is still listed as unrecouped by $4 million. “How is that possible?” he asked.

He also exposed the “black box” problem, where unpaid royalties for unclaimed or misassigned tracks are pooled together and often absorbed by the biggest companies. “If you don’t opt in to claim physical royalties from 20 years ago, they just sit there. The money’s real, but they hide it.”

Even big wins, he noted, come with caveats. “You find $5 million. You know it’s yours. But they’ll settle with you for $2 million and call it a day,” he said. “That’s how they win. By lowballing the truth.”

More Than Just Money

Despite the cynical system, Gu approaches his work with moral clarity. “Sometimes, I’ve done it for free,” he admitted. “If you’re in a shelter, or if the system’s already taken everything from you, how can I take more? I’ll get blessed another way.”

He sees himself not just as an auditor but as a disruptor—someone pushing for justice in an industry that thrives on silence. He’s not opposed to forming class actions or collective audits and hinted that bigger moves are coming. “I’ve got issues with all of them—labels, publishers. If you’re protecting a monster, you’re going to get what the monster gets,” he said.

For Gu, the mission is clear: educate artists, expose injustice, and never back down. “I feel like I was ordained to do this,” he said near the end of the interview. “It just feels like something I was made to do.”