Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment (SME), alleging that the company underpaid and concealed royalties owed for his work with artists such as Mariah Carey, Usher, Kris Kross, Xscape, Bow Wow, and Da Brat.
The Atlanta-based producer and songwriter, recognized for shaping the sound of 1990s hip-hop and R&B, contends that Sony Music knowingly violated contracts with him and his label, So So Def, without attempting to disclose its improper accounting practices. Filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawsuit seeks at least $18 million in damages.
The 13‑page lawsuit, obtained by Rolling Stone, states: “Given the systemic pattern of underreporting royalties, failures to report royalties, and alterations to statements to reflect previously earned royalties, Sony Music Entertainment has engaged in willful deceitful actions intended to harm the plaintiffs.”
Regarding Kris Kross, Dupri alleges that Sony concealed royalties owed on the duo’s catalog for over twenty years, holding the funds in a separate royalty‑accounting system unknown to the plaintiffs.
Dupri further alleges that Sony knowingly concealed additional royalties owed from Jagged Edge’s 1997 album, The Jagged Era, and altered royalty statements dating back several years. He and his attorney, Chris Brown, cite at least seven contracts between the producer and Sony Music entities spanning more than 25 years. They contend that an accounting audit conducted last year revealed millions of dollars owed to Dupri and his companies, So So Def Recordings and So So Def Productions.
Sony Music representatives did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment, and Dupri’s lawyer said he had no comment when contacted by email on Tuesday.
The lawsuit describes Dupri as a “mastermind” of Southern hip‑hop and R&B, noting his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018 and his 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for “We Belong Together,” co‑written with Mariah Carey and Johntá Austin. It also references the song’s Spotify stream count, which exceeded 942 million streams as of Tuesday.
“Dupri is a musical icon whose recordings on So So Def and productions with other artists have generated over $200 million in gross revenue in the music industry,” the lawsuit states. Although the complaint seeks at least $18 million in damages, Dupri indicates he is not limiting his claim to that amount.
“Given that the issue of unreported producer royalties is not isolated, as evidenced above, it is likely that SME failed to report producer royalties to the plaintiffs for services rendered in connection with other artists tied to the So So Def/SME agreements,” the lawsuit reads. “Additional royalties owed to the plaintiffs remain to be determined.”
