Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), accusing the company of underpaying and concealing royalties tied to his work.
The Grammy-winning producer cites artists including Mariah Carey, Usher, Kris Kross, Xscape, Bow Wow and Da Brat.
Dupri, who is known for shaping the sound of ’90s hip-hop and R&B, claims Sony Music “knew that it was violating” contracts with him and his label, So So Def, but “never attempted to disclose its contemptuous accounting practices”.
Dupri’s lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, is seeking at least $18 million (£13.5 million) in damages.
“Given the systemic pattern of under-reporting royalties, failure of reporting royalties, and altering and/or updating statements to report previously earned royalties, SME has engaged in willful deceitful actions designed to harm plaintiffs in their business,” the 13-page lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone reads.
In the case of Kris Kross, Dupri claims Sony hid royalties owed on his catalogue for more than two decades. According to the complaint, Sony kept those funds in “a separate royalty accounting system unknown to plaintiffs”.
In the lawsuit, Dupri is described as a “mastermind” of the Southern hip-hop and R&B sound. It notes Dupri was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, and that he won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 2006 for the track We Belong Together, which he co-wrote with Mariah Carey and Johntá Austin.
