In September, Face2Face Africa reported that Nelly’s St. Lunatics bandmates had filed a copyright lawsuit against him over his critically acclaimed debut album, Country Grammar. But there has been a recent turn of events as three of the rapper’s bandmates want to be removed as plaintiffs in the complaint.
The new development was disclosed to TMZ by Nelly’s lawyer N. Scott Rosenblum. The four bandmates initially named in the lawsuit were Ali (Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan), and City Spud (Lavell Webb). But Ali Jones now remains the only plaintiff after the other three asked to be removed from the lawsuit claiming that Nelly had omitted them from the album’s credits and royalty payments.
A legal letter stated that Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud had not given the green light for them to be named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. That letter was sent to the lawyer who filed the lawsuit.
Ali Jones is said to have been the mastermind behind the lawsuit. The complaint claimed that Nelly on multiple occasions “manipulated” his St. Lunatics bandmates to wrongly believe they were going to be financially rewarded for contributing to his Country Grammar album, Billboard reported
However, Rosenblum in the letter said he has been retained by Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud, adding that the trio is not interested in pursuing the case. They are also threatening to take legal action, per TMZ.
Sources also told the entertainment and celebrity news outlet that the lawsuit was filed without the knowledge of the three bandmates as they have no issues with Nelly. That appeared to be the case on Sunday as the Hot In Herre rapper and the trio performed at the 2024 American Music Awards.
Nelly and his former St. Lunatics bandmates were friends from high school, and they shot into the limelight with their 1998 hit single, Gimme What U Got. They released their debut album, Free City, in 2001, and it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200.
The lawsuit was filed after Nelly sold a portion of his catalog for $50 million, per Variety. Released in 2000, Country Grammar shot Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, into superstardom. The award-winning album featured hit singles including Country Grammar, E.I., and Ride wit Me.
The public credits for Country Grammar repeatedly name Nelly’s former bandmates as co-writers for several songs on the project. For his standout hit single, Ride Wit Me, Nelly shares co-writing and co-performing credits with City Spud, Billboard reported.
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