As reported by GazetteXtra, in a significant legal development, two brothers from St. Louis are taking legal action against Universal Music Group, claiming they are owed millions in royalties stemming from tracks featured in Hip-Hop artist Nelly's first two solo albums. The lawsuit was filed by D2, a local record label founded by twin brothers David and Darren Stith, which had its origins in a community skating rink. The suit was filed in the Central District of California on November 22nd.
The Stith brothers assert they were instrumental in "finding, nurturing, and bringing to the public the music of" Nelly, alongside his group St. Lunatics, after connecting the artists with producer Jason Epperson. The St. Lunatics, which includes Nelly and five other members, was formed in 1993 and achieved notable success with the 1997 hit “Gimmie What U Got.”
According to the lawsuit, the brothers entered into contracts that entitled them to a percentage of the royalties from Nelly's highly successful albums, Country Grammar and Nellyville, as well as royalties from select St. Lunatics songs. Attorney Jay Kanzler Jr., who represents the brothers, pointed out, “What (Universal) is doing is they're taking the same song and just changing the title. And so, when you talk about duplicate titles, they are collecting all that money, keeping it and only paying us for the one song.”
Kanzler emphasized that the alterations to song titles can be subtle, such as modifying "Ride Wit Me" to "Ride With Me," yet the resulting financial implications leave D2 compensated for only one version, missing out on others.
The brothers believe that they are owed as much as $10 million in unpaid royalties. "That's kind of a guesstimate, because you don't know what you don't know until you get the documentation," Kanzler explained. "But looking at the number of albums sold, you know, you just kind of extrapolate that out."
The lawsuit seeks two primary outcomes: first, the payment owed to D2 for the royalty discrepancies related to the duplicate song titles. Kanzler stated, "Tell us what they are and how much you know you've made off of them, and give us our percentage." Additionally, they are requesting Universal Music to disclose information related to other songs for which the brothers hold royalty rights.
"So that we can do the analysis to determine whether or not we've been properly paid," Kanzler added. "Because at this point, you've given us nothing."
This lawsuit emerges roughly two months after Nelly faced a separate lawsuit from four former members of the St. Lunatics, who alleged they had been unjustly denied writing credits and royalties for eight songs, many of which appeared on Nelly’s debut solo album, Country Grammar, released 24 years ago. In that case, filed in New York, these longtime friends of Nelly accused him of misleading the group regarding rights to these eight tracks, including several that contributed to the album's distinction as one of the few Hip-Hop albums to achieve “diamond status.” This group is seeking no less than $50 million in damages.
However, a letter from Nelly’s long-standing attorney, Scott Rosenblum, indicated that he was informed by three of the St. Lunatics that they did not consent to being named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. This correspondence, dated September 24th, was sent to Gail Walton, the attorney who initially filed the lawsuit against Nelly.
An amended complaint later filed specified only one group member, Ali Jones, as a plaintiff in the ongoing legal battle.
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