American rapper Nelly is being sued by his former bandmate St. Lunatics over a copyright dispute over several songs from his hit album rural grammarreleased in 2000.
The complaint was filed in New York on Thursday (September 18) by attorneys representing Ali Jones (Ali), Torsh Harper (Murphy Lee), Robert Cleveland (Kyjuan) and Lavell Webb (Lavell Webb).
They are seeking a jury trial, plus “actual and compensatory damages suffered by the defendants as a result of their continued unlawful, illegal and tortious conduct, in an amount to be determined at trial but in no event less than $50 million.”
The plaintiff claims to be “the author, creator, composer, writer and copyright owner of the lyrics to eight original musical compositions” rural grammar, include steal the show; thick girl, rural grammar; wrap something/Sumden; hit; from you; go;and Tell me what you’re going to do.
According to St. Lunatics, the works were “illegally used and/or exploited” by Nelly (real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.) to create Country Grammar.
The lawsuit (which you can read in full here ) explains that St. Lunatics and Nelly were childhood friends in St. Louis, Missouri, and formed a rap group called “St. Lunatics” in 1993. madman.
According to the lawsuit: “Although Defendant Haynes [Nelly] He showed considerable skill as a performer and singer, but he lacked the songwriting creativity possessed by the other members of St. Lunatics.
It added that Nelly and his bandmates “worked hard to try to establish themselves in the music industry”. Between 1993 and 1997, Nelly and his former bandmates began performing and recording demos under the name St. Lunatics.
“During these years,” Nellie’s bandmates “provided the majority of songwriting and lyrical writing duties” for the band, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit continues: “[Nelly] Demonstrated considerable talent in expressing lyrically the songs composed and arranged by the plaintiff. Through their songwriting, demo tapes, and public performances, the St. Lunatics strive to attract the attention of various record labels in the music industry in pursuit of record deals.
In 1997, St. Lunatics released their first single, give me what you got, They noted that it was a “commercial success” and gave them a “firm foothold in the hip-hop industry.”
The song continued to be played on the radio, and the record label “began to court St. Lunatics and expressed interest in entering into a recording agreement with them,” the complaint states.
The complaint states, “In 2000, defendant UMG, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Universal Music Group, signed a [Nelly] Record deal struck. Also in 2000, defendant UMG agreed to a recording agreement with St. Lunatics.
Universal Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group are among the companies named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Nelly’s former bandmate explained that his solo album “would be released before the first St. Lunatics album,” so they “started writing lyrics to these controversial songs.”
They claim that at no time during the album’s “recording process” did Nelly “question” that St. Lunatics “composed and arranged the lyrics contained in the original composition.”
They also claimed that Nelly “in [a] video of the recording process, frankly admitting that the plaintiff was and is the author of the original works contained in the infringing album.”
rural grammar The album was subsequently released in 2000 and was a “tremendous commercial success,” making Nelly “a certified rap star,” the lawsuit states.
St. Lunatics alleges that “during the recording of the album and its subsequent release and sale,” Nellie “privately and publicly acknowledged Plaintiff as the author of the lyrics to the original composition and committed to ensuring that Plaintiff received plaintiff’s writing and publishing credit.” “.
St Madman added that “relying on the commitment Nelly has made to them” they “continue to work with [Nelly] Both in his solo performances (as a backing performer) and as part of the group St. Lunatics.
They also claimed that they “contacted many times [Nelly] and/or their authorized representatives inquired about their publishing and writing credits,” and that Nellie and his representatives “repeatedly assured the plaintiffs that they would receive all publishing and writing credits.”
The lawsuit continues: “Despite Defendant Haynes’ repeated assurances that Plaintiffs would receive writing credit and publishing income for the creation of original works, Plaintiffs ultimately discovered at some point in 2020 that Defendant Haynes had been lying to them.
“Plaintiffs ultimately discovered that not only did they receive no credit as authors and/or creators of the original works, but Defendants Haynes and others received full credit for creating the original works contained in the infringing albums.
“Defendant Haynes not only fraudulently represented to others that he was the writer and/or creator of original works, but also, upon information and belief, allowed others in his circle to receive credit and publishing revenue for songs written by Plaintiff.”
The Mad Men claim that every time they confronted Nelly about publishing credits and income, he “assured them as a ‘friend’ that he would never prevent them from achieving the financial success they deserved as authors of their original works.” .
However, they added that they had “reasons to believe that their friends and former bandmates would never steal credit for creating the original work” and that they “initially did not seek any legal remedies and believed [Nelly] will deliver on his promise” to ensure the St. Madmen are properly recognized.global music business
