Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), seeking at least $18 million in damages. According to a lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone, Dupri alleges the company systematically underpaid and concealed royalties tied to his work with artists including Mariah Carey, Usher, and Kris Kross.
Sony Music Accused of Willful Deceit in Royalty Reporting
The 13-page lawsuit claims Sony Music knowingly violated contracts with Dupri and his label, So So Def, while hiding “contemptuous accounting practices.” The filing alleges a systemic pattern of underreporting royalties, failing to report them entirely, and altering statements to report previously earned funds.
According to the court documents, these actions were “willful deceitful actions designed to harm plaintiffs in their business.” The legal action covers at least seven contracts between Dupri and various Sony Music entities spanning more than 25 years.
Hidden Accounting Systems and Altered Statements
The lawsuit highlights specific instances where Dupri claims Sony obscured earnings. In the case of the group Kris Kross, the complaint alleges Sony hid royalties for over two decades by keeping funds in a “separate royalty accounting system unknown to plaintiffs.”
Dupri also alleges that Sony knowingly concealed money owed from Jagged Edge’s 1997 album, The Jagged Era, and manipulated royalty statements over several years. These discrepancies allegedly came to light during an accounting audit conducted last year, which uncovered millions of dollars owed to Dupri, So So Def Recordings, and So So Def Productions.
Financial Impact and Industry Standing
The lawsuit frames Dupri as a “mastermind” of the Southern hip-hop and R&B sound, noting his 2018 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It specifically cites his 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for “We Belong Together,” co-written with Mariah Carey and Johntá Austin—a track that has surpassed 942,000,000 streams on Spotify as of Tuesday.
The filing states that recordings on So So Def and Dupri’s production work have generated over $200,000,000 in gross revenue. While the current request for damages is set at $18 million, the lawsuit notes this figure may increase. The complaint argues that because the underreporting wasn’t an isolated issue, it’s likely Sony failed to report royalties for other artists associated with the So So Def and SME deals.
Current Status of the Legal Dispute
Representatives for Sony Music didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Rolling Stone. Dupri’s attorney, Chris Brown, also declined to comment via email on Tuesday.
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