Beginning in the early 1980s, "sampling" became a thing, and it's still a part of the fabric of rap/hip-hop and other forms of popular music, per a 2001 Los Angeles Times report. George Clinton's music was and is eminently sample-able, and had he signed the right deal, he could have made tens of millions from licensing his music catalog to be sampled by other artists. However, the company that owned the rights to his music said that it didn't owe Clinton any money, and even if it did, the amount would be trivial — a few million, tops.
By 2001, Clinton was buried in legal fees and touring in small clubs 200 nights per year just to stay afloat. According to Playback, Clinton even filed for bankruptcy. But filing for bankruptcy doesn't mean that you're destitute — it just means that you have more debts than assets. In addition, Clinton claimed that the bankruptcy filing was fraudulent and that he never put his signature on the paperwork.
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