NEWS
Nelly has been sued by his former group the St. Lunatics over what they claim is uncredited work on his Country Grammar album.
The group, consisting of Ali Jones (Ali), Torhi Harper (Murphy Lee), Robert Kyjuan (Kyjuan) and Nelly’s brother Lavell Webb (City Spud), filed the copyright infringement suit against Nelly on Wednesday (September 18).
The claim, which was made in New York Federal Court, asserts that the superstar didn’t credit them for their work on his 2000 album.
The claim revolves around their publishing and writing on the album.
This isn’t the first time St. Lunatics have spoken out against Nelly’s alleged impropriety regarding their artistic contributions to their work.
In 2023, Ali vowed he’d never perform with Nelly ever again because of money he owed the band.
Ali Jones sat down with VladTV for an interview in August of that year and opened up about Nelly allegedly going for months at a time without paying him what he was owed.
“I’ll say like it could be $90,000 or $70,000,” he estimated. “When that conversation happens I’ll get a check. It’ll be $13,000. Now you’ll be fucked up now because what is this $13,000 for? You owe me $91,000.”
He concluded: “What did you pay me for? At the end of it, it’s gonna be $66,000 because he’s far behind on the payments.”
The St. Louis native blasted Nelly for the lack of communication on his end and then blamed an outsider for trying to divide Nelly from the group.
Ali went on to declare that he’s “never” going to reunite with Nelly or hit the stage to perform with him again in the future.
“A tiger ain’t never gon’ change his stripes,” he said. “I watched it for 20 years and I’m the butt of the joke because it took me 20 years to realize it. I could put a never, ever behind it will I ever hit the stage or do anything with him.”
He added: “He has no real raw good intentions for others. Not for us and we’ve all sat together and searched hard to try to find a time that didn’t benefit him. He got $50 million, I’m happy for him. That’s what he wants. He wants a billion.”
The $50 million Ali was referencing is the reported figure Nelly was paid for selling half of his music catalog back in June. The deal included eight albums spanning a string of hits, a lot of which played a crucial role in elevating 21st-century Hip Hop and R&B.
Last Summer, Hot97 had a shake-up at the radio station, which led to the dismissal of names like Ebro, Peter Rosenberg, Laura Stylez, and even DJ Enuff. At the time, there were fears that Funk Flex would be let go as well, although that turned out not to be the case.
Not long after he departed from the radio station, DJ Enuff told TMZ that he believed Flex had a hand in getting him fired. This led to widespread debate, with Peter Rosenberg claiming that Funk Flex had nothing to do with it. Furthermore, Rosenberg suggested that the corporate branch of the station wanted everyone to turn on each other.
Now, almost a year later, Funk Flex is leveling a response against DJ Enuff. In fact, he is accusing the long-time DJ of taking payola. For those who may not know, payola is the act of taking money and then playing specific songs or albums on the radio in return. Effectively, it is a bribe.
"DJ ENUFF / HEAVYHITTERS I GOT U FIRED?," Funk Flex asked. "DID FRENCH MONTANA PAY U 25k FOR THE HEAVYHITTER CONFERENCE CALL? DID MAINO PAY YOU 40k FOR THE MIXSHOW LIST ADDS? WAS NORE OFFERED A “DISCOUNT” OF $2,500 FOR A MONTH OF SPINS? DID MYLES BRANDO PAY U 10K TO PERFORM AT MIXSHOW MEETING AND GET ADDED TO MIXSHOW LIST? WAS DJ WAVY ASKED TO PAY $2,500 TO SPIN ON SUMMER MIX WEEKEND?"
These are serious allegations, especially when you consider how payola is a crime that can come with grave penalties. For instance, if someone were to be convicted of the act, they could face five-figure fines and even jail time.
At press time,DJ Enuff has yet to respond to the allegations.
