US rapper Nelly has been sued by his former bandmates, the St. Lunatics, over a copyright dispute regarding several tracks from his hit album Country Grammar, which was released in 2000.
The complaint was filed by lawyers in New York on Thursday (September 18) on behalf of Ali Jones (Ali), Torhi Harper (Murphy Lee), Robert Cleveland (Kyjuan) and Lavell Webb.
They are seeking a jury trial plus “actual and compensatory damages suffered as a result of Defendants’ continuing unlawful, illegal and infringing conduct in an amount to be determined at trial, but which are in no event less than $50 million.”
The plaintiffs claim to be “the authors, creators, composers, writers and copyright owners of the lyrics to eight original musical compositions” from Country Grammar, including Steal the Show; Thick Thick Girl, Country Grammar; Wrap Something/Sumden; Batter Up; Iz U; Go; and Gimmie What You Go.
According to the St. Lunatics, these compositions “were unlawfully utilized 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 the St. Lunatics and Nelly were childhood friends in St. Louis, Missouri and that in 1993, they formed a rap group called the “St. Lunatics.”
According to the lawsuit: “While Defendant Haynes [Nelly] demonstrated considerable skills as performer and vocalist, he lacked the song-writing creativity possessed by the other members of the St. Lunatics”.
It adds that Nelly and his bandmates “worked diligently in trying to get a foot hold in the music industry”. Between 1993 and 1997, Nelly and his former bandmates started performing and recording demos as the St. Lunatics.
“During these years,” the lawsuit claims, Nelly’s bandmates “provided the majority of the songwriting and lyrical compositions duties” for the group.
The lawsuit continues: “[Nelly] showed considerable talent in his lyrical delivery of the songs written and arranged by Plaintiffs. The St. Lunatics, through their songwriting, demo tapes and public performances, worked hard to gain the attention of various record companies in the music industry in search of a recording deal.
In 1997, the St. Lunatics released their first single, Gimme What You Got, which they note became “a commercial success” and gave them “a foothold in the hip-hop industry.”
The complaint notes that the track received continued radio play, and record companies “began courting the St. Lunatics and expressed interest in signing them to a record deal.”
The complaint says that “in the year 2000, Defendant UMG, via its wholly owned subsidiary Universal Records, signed [Nelly] to a record deal. Also in 2000, Defendant UMG agreed to sign the St. Lunatics to a recording deal.”
Universal Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group are among the companies named as defendants in the suit.
Nelly’s former bandmates explain that his solo album “would be released before” the St. Lunatics first album, and so they “began writing the lyrics” to the disputed songs.
They claim that “at no time during the recording” of the album did Nelly “ever dispute” that the St. Lunatics “wrote and arranged the lyrics contained in the original compositions”.
They also claim that Nelly, “in [a] video of their recording sessions, freely admits that Plaintiffs were, and are, the writers of the Original Compositions contained in the Infringing Album”.
Country Grammar was then released in 2000 and became a “huge commercial success”, making Nelly “a certified rap star”, the lawsuit notes.
The St. Lunatics claim that “during the recording, and subsequent distribution and sale”, of the album, Nelly “privately and publicly acknowledged that Plaintiffs were the lyric writers for the Original Compositions and promised to ensure that Plaintiffs received writing and publishing credit for the Original Compositions”.
The St. Lunatics add that, “relying on the promises made to them” by Nelly, they “continued to perform shows with [Nelly] both in his solo performances (as back up performers) and as the group St. Lunatics.”
They also claim that they “repeatedly reached out to [Nelly] and/or his authorized representatives inquiring about their publishing and writers’ credit” and that Nelly and his reps “repeatedly assured Plaintiffs that they would receive all of their publishing and writing credit”.
The lawsuit continues: “Despite repeated assurances by Defendant Haynes that Plaintiffs would receive their writing credit and publishing income for creating the Original Compositions, Plaintiffs, sometime in 2020, eventually discovered that Defendant Haynes had been lying to them the entire time.
“Plaintiffs eventually discovered that not only did they not receive any credit as authors and/or creators of the Original Compositions, but that Defendant Haynes, and others, took full credit for creating the Original Compositions contained in the Infringing Album.
“Not only did Defendant Haynes fraudulently represent to others that he was a writer and/or creator of the Original Compositions, he also, upon information and belief, allowed other individuals within his circle to receive credit and publishing income for songs written by Plaintiffs.”
The St. Lunatics claim that every time they confronted Nelly about their publishing credit and income, he “would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to as writers of the Original Compositions”.
The added however that, “reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the Original Compositions,’ they “did not initially pursue any legal remedies and believed [Nelly] would make good on his promise” to ensure the St. Lunatics were properly credited.Music Business Worldwide
