Photo Credit: Nelly by Adam Bielawski / CC by 3.0
Three of Nelly’s former St. Lunatics bandmates have dropped out of the lawsuit the group filed against him seeking royalties for his breakout album.
Three of Nelly’s former St. Lunatics bandmates have formally dropped out of the lawsuit the group filed against him back in September. The filing claimed the Lunatics contributed to the rapper’s breakout album, Country Grammar, but were cut from the credits.
The initial lawsuit was filed by Ali Jones, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud — but the latter three were quick to point out they never consented to their inclusion in the lawsuit and demanded they be removed from the case.
The updated version, filed on Friday, November 22, saw the attorneys behind the lawsuit omit Lee, Kyjuan, and Spud as requested, making the lawsuit solely a dispute between Ali and Nelly. Attorney Precious Felder Gates, representing Ali, told Billboard her client would “continue to pursue the unpaid royalties he is entitled to.”
The St. Lunatics, a group of high school friends from St. Louis, first hit the scene in the late 90s with “Gimme What U Got.” Their debut album, Free City, which was actually released a year after Nelly’s solo album, Country Grammar, reached #1 on the Billboard 200.
According to Ali’s lawsuit, Nelly “repeatedly manipulated” the group into thinking they’d be paid for their work on his solo album, but he never made good on those promises. “Unfortunately, plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.”
But despite the lawsuit alleging all four of Nelly’s former bandmates had been jilted, Spud, Kyjuan, and Lee never wanted to sue their friend. In fact, the three joined him on stage during his performance at the American Music Awards.
Notably, the updated version added HarbourView Equity Partners to the list of defendants per Nelly’s $50 million catalog sale to them last year. Ali’s attorneys suggest the deal helped spark the lawsuit, as it was a “substantial transaction.” But that seems odd, considering the company was absent from the initial version of the filing. HarbourView Equity Partners has not yet responded to media requests for comment.