Nelly Hit With $50 Million Lawsuit Over Country Grammar Songwriting Credits by Former St. Lunatics Members
Rapper Nelly faces a $50 million lawsuit from former St. Lunatics members over alleged writing credit manipulation for his 2000 album, Country Grammar.
Nelly wearing sunglasses and colorful shirt
Photo Credit: The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0
The plaintiffs - Ali Jones, Lavell Web, Robert Kyjuan, and Tohri Harper - claim Nelly promised them writing credits during the album's recording sessions. The group performed with Nelly as backup performers and released songs like "Gimme What U Got" before his solo career.
According to the lawsuit, Nelly repeatedly assured the group they would receive credits and publishing income while both Country Grammar and the St. Lunatics album Free City were commercially successful. The plaintiffs allegedly discovered in 2020 that they received no credit as authors or creators, while Nelly and others claimed full credit for the original compositions.
The discovery came after learning about a separate dispute between Willie Woods Jr. (aka John Long) and Nelly regarding writing credits for "Ride Wit Me," a song from Country Grammar. This revelation prompted the plaintiffs to seek legal counsel regarding their copyrights.
The lawsuit names Universal Music Group (UMG), Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), BMG, Kobalt, and Hipgnosis as defendants alongside Nelly for copyright infringement.
Nelly at media event backdrop
Update: Three St. Lunatics members have since dropped their involvement in the lawsuit.
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