Members of St. Lunatics have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Nelly, alleging he failed to credit them for their contributions to his chart-topping debut album, Country Grammar.
According to Variety, the complaint was filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court by St. Lunatics members Ali Jones (Ali), Torhi Harper (Murphy Lee), Robert Kyjuan (Kyjuan) and Lavell Webb (City Spud).
What does the lawsuit from St. Lunatics against Nelly allege?
The complaint alleges that Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, led them to believe they would be compensated for their work on the 2000 album.
Nelly and his St. Lunatics group members were childhood friends who collaborated on music and wrote songs together in the mid-90s. Although both parties signed separate record deals with UMG, the plan was for Nelly to release his album first, with the understanding that the group would receive writing credits on the project. After the release of Country Grammar, the St. Lunatics group members reached out to Nelly regarding publishing and writing credits on the album, and he allegedly assured them that they would be properly compensated.
“Every time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” the group members allege in the suit obtained by Billboard. “Unfortunately, plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.”
Who is credited on Country Grammar?
Several group members were listed as co-writers in the public credits for multiple songs on Country Grammar, particularly with City Spud credited as a co-writer and co-performer on the single “Ride Wit Me,” which spent 29 weeks on the Hot 100, Billboard reported.
However, the complaint alleges the members were not credited for all songs they had worked on for the project.
Group members allege that they noticed they were lied to about the deal in 2020
While they were promised proper recognition for their work, it was not until 2020 that they discovered Nelly had allegedly lied to them about the deal.
“Despite repeatedly promising plaintiffs that they would receive full recognition and credit… it eventually became clear that defendant Haynes had no intention of providing the plaintiffs with any such credit or recognition,” the group’s attorneys shared in the suit, per Billboard.
The group hired an attorney in 2021 and sent a letter to Universal Music Publishing Group and Nelly’s attorneys, but his legal team allegedly dismissed those claims. Despite this, the group members proceeded with legal action, alleging that Nelly used their songs without permission.
Blavity reported that Nelly’s Country Grammar was “the song that put Nelly and the city of St. Louis on the map.” The catchy tune and playful rhymes captured everyone’s attention during the summer of 2000.
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