Jermaine Dupri sues Sony Music, demands $18 million over alleged unpaid royalties

Hip-hop executive and R&B producer Jermaine Dupri has filed an $18 million lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment, accusing the company of underpaying and concealing royalties from some of his biggest music projects.

The lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan federal court, alleges that Sony knowingly violated its contracts with Dupri and his So So Def label by underreporting royalties and hiding earnings linked to artists including Mariah Carey, Usher, Kris Kross, Xscape, Bow Wow and Da Brat.

According to the complaint, Sony "knew that it was violating" its agreements but "never attempted to disclose its contemptuous accounting practices."

The lawsuit further alleges that the company engaged in "willful deceitful actions" by underreporting royalties, failing to report payments, and altering royalty statements, causing financial harm to Dupri and his businesses.

Dupri also claims Sony concealed royalties from Kris Kross' catalogue for more than two decades by keeping the funds in a separate royalty accounting system that was allegedly unknown to him.

The producer further alleges that Sony failed to properly account for royalties from The Jagged Era by Jagged Edge and manipulated royalty statements over several years.

According to the lawsuit, an accounting audit carried out last year uncovered millions of dollars allegedly owed to Dupri and his companies, So So Def Recordings and So So Def Productions.

The filing describes Dupri as a pioneer of Southern hip-hop and R&B, highlighting his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 and his Grammy-winning work on We Belong Together, which he co-wrote with Mariah Carey and Johntá Austin.

While Dupri is seeking at least $18 million in damages, the lawsuit states that additional unpaid royalties may still be uncovered as investigations continue.