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.
Perry Farrell has released another public apology following an on-stage confrontation involving his bandmate Dave Navarro.
The Jane's Addiction frontman was involved in a physical altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro last year during a live performance, an incident that prompted the band to cancel their reunion tour and eventually led to their split.
“I'd like to address what happened on stage last year,” Perry, 66, said in a statement shared across both his personal Instagram account and Jane's Addiction’s official page. “I've reflected on it and know I didn't handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.”
He went on to admit that he did not meet fan expectations and described himself as deeply remorseful toward everyone impacted by the incident.
“Jane's Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons, and the impact that we've had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down,” he shared.
“My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I'm truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.”
Jane's Addiction also issued its own statement regarding the altercation, which ultimately led to the group’s remaining members filing a lawsuit against Perry alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
“Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together,” the band wrote, signaling that the group would not move forward with Perry. “We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors.”
