American music producer Jermaine Dupri has filed an $18 million lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), accusing the company of failing to pay him proper royalties from several major music releases.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday and reviewed by Variety, alleges that SME mishandled royalty payments linked to artists including Mariah Carey, Usher, Xscape, Kris Kross and others.
Dupri’s legal team claims the dispute dates back to May 1992, when his label So-So Def Entertainment signed an agreement with Sony Music. According to the lawsuit, Dupri began questioning his royalty payments in 2023 after suspecting that he had not received the full amount owed to him.
The lawsuit alleges that SME underreported royalties and later changed statements showing previously earned payments. Dupri’s lawyers accused the company of carrying out “willful deceitful actions” that damaged his business interests.
The legal filing claims several So-So Def production share and producer royalty accounts faced inaccurate reporting. A Sony Music Entertainment representative told Variety that the company had no comment on the matter.
Dupri’s business relationship with SME began when So-So Def signed a label agreement with the company in 1992 to release projects from artists including Da Brat, Xscape, Whodini and Neena.
In 1997, So-So Def entered a joint venture agreement with SME, which ended with a buyout in 2002. Dupri later worked on deals with Arista, Universal Music Group and EMI for releases from artists including Bow Wow and Jagged Edge.
The lawsuit highlights several alleged unpaid royalty amounts, including $960,000 in producer royalties linked to Xscape’s album “Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha” and more than $1 million related to Da Brat’s “Funkdafied”.
The filing also claims Sony Music understated royalties connected to albums by Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Usher, J-Kwon, Dupri and Bone Crusher. It further alleges that Dupri is owed more than $10 million in interest on unpaid royalties involving Xscape, Kris Kross, Da Brat and other projects.
Dupri is seeking at least $18 million in damages, along with interest and legal fees. A jury will determine the final amount, according to the lawsuit.
