Cordae Slapped with $25M Lawsuit After Anderson .Paak Collab

Photo Credit: Cordae / Instagram

Cordae is getting sued for $25 million over allegedly violating an exclusive recording agreement with his forthcoming Anderson .Paak collaboration project, Heavy is the Crown.

Florida-based label MMMG Inc. has slapped rapper Cordae with a $25 million lawsuit for allegedly violating a 2018 exclusive recording agreement by releasing his upcoming Anderson .Paak collaborative project, Heavy Is the Crown.

The album is due for release on Friday, October 23, via EMPIRE, APESHIT, and Mass Appeal—not MMMG—and the label is therefore seeking an injunction to block that release while demanding $25 million in damages from the rapper and the labels. Anderson .Paak is not named as a defendant.

According to the filing in the Southern District of New York, MMMG signed an agreement with Cordae (whose real name is Cordae Amari Dunston) in April 2018. That deal included exclusive ownership of his recorded copyrights and merchandising, touring, and endorsement rights. But the label says Cordae’s upcoming album with .Paak and the single the duo dropped ahead of its release violate his exclusivity agreement.

Specifically, MMMG’s filing includes a copyright infringement claim over the single “A Good Day,” released on September 16 ($5 million); a breach of contract claim related to withheld revenue ($15 million); and an additional tortious interference claim ($5 million).

The filing includes a request for an injunction to block the album’s release on Friday amid the ongoing legal feud over Cordae’s rights. If the album proceeds with release as planned, more copyright infringement claims will be added.

The lawsuit also centers on whether Cordae’s move from Atlantic to Concord’s Stem for distribution satisfied a contract clause giving MMMG six months to find a qualified distributor. Cordae’s legal team says the arrangement was invalid without an inducement letter agreeing to the terms of said deal. MMMG argues that Cordae’s deal with them contains no requirement for an inducement letter and that his challenge of the authenticity of the arrangement was done in bad faith.

Heavy is the Crown is currently still due for release on Friday, but that may change if MMMG’s request for an injunction to halt its release is granted.