Rapper Nelly (center) is being sued by his former St. Lunatics band members over unpaid royalties.
Billboard reports that the St. Lunatics filed a lawsuit against the St. Louis native over royalties from his debut studio album Country Grammar.
Country Grammar spawned the hit single “Country Grammar (Hot Sh*t)”, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Other songs off the album include “E.I.”, “Ride wit Me” and “Batter Up.”
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the group members say they wrote the lyrics to “Country Grammar” and songs that they were never credited for, including “Steal the Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl,” “Batter Up,” and “Wrap Sumden.”
The group alleges that Nelly (born Cornell Haynes Jr.) “manipulated” them into believing they would be compensated for their contributions to the album. They’ve been waiting for proper compensation for 24 years.
According to court documents, obtained by Billboard, Nelly, 49, assured the group that he would never prevent them from receiving the success they were entitled to.
Meanwhile, Nelly achieved more success with his second album, Nellyville (2002), that spawned number 1 singles, “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” (featuring Kelly Rowland). The album also produced the Top 5 single, “Air Force Ones” (featuring Murphy Lee and St. Lunatics).
“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,” their lawyers wrote in the complaint.
“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.”
Nelly recently sold his song catalog for $50 million. He married longtime girlfriend, Ashanti, and they welcomed a son together.
Life couldn’t be better for Nelly. But his former friends can barely make ends meet in today’s economy.
