Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), accusing it of underpaying him for years and concealing royalties related to his work.
The Grammy Award winner names artists like Mariah Carey, Usher, Kris Kross, Xscape, Bow Wow and Da Brat in the lawsuit.
Dupri, known as one of the key architects of the hip-hop and R&B sound of the 1990s, claims that Sony Music "knew it was violating" contracts it had with him and his label So So Def, but "never attempted to expose its despicable accounting practices."
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan, and Dupree is seeking at least $18 million in damages.
"Given the systematic pattern of underreporting royalties, failing to report royalties, and amending and supplementing calculations to subsequently reflect previously earned royalties, SME knowingly engaged in deceptive practices with the aim of harming plaintiffs in their business," the 13-page lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone states.
In the case of Kris Kross, Dupri claims that Sony concealed royalties from their music catalog for more than two decades. According to the lawsuit, the company kept the money in "a separate royalty accounting system that plaintiffs were unaware of."
The lawsuit describes Dupri as the "architect" of the Southern hip-hop and R&B sound. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 and won a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 2006 for "We Belong Together," which he co-wrote with Mariah Carey and Johnathan Austin.
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