ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Jermaine Dupri attends the BET Hip-Hop Awards 2023 on October 03, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Atlanta hip-hop icon Jermaine Dupri and his record label, So So Def Recordings, have launched an $18 million federal lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment.
The suit claims the record company engaged in a multi-decade pattern of concealing and underreporting royalties. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the legal action seeks at least $18 million in damages, plus an additional $10 million for interest and legal fees.
What we know:
The full complaint can be viewed here and alleges breach of contract and willful financial deception spanning a 32-year partnership.
The lawsuit claims that Sony did not pay Dupri all the money he earned from making music and running his record label. The titles in question include hits from stars like Mariah Carey and Usher, alongside hip-hop and R&B artists such as Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow and more.
Dupri's team found out about the missing money during an independent financial audit concluded in 2025. The lawsuit says they owe more than $2.2 million from the first two Kris Kross albums. Dupri's lawyers say Sony hid this money in a separate royalty accounting system for over 20 years so Dupri wouldn't know about it.
The suit also claims Sony underreported roughly $960,000 from Xscape's 1993 debut album and withheld more than $1 million from Da Brat's 1994 platinum record Funkdafied.
Furthermore, the lawsuit argues they kept another $1 million made by the music between 2020 and 2024. Sony claimed Dupri still owed them money for past expenses. However, Dupri's team says Sony promised to wipe those old debts away in 2021, so they shouldn't be keeping his money now.
What we don't know:
We do not have an official statement from Sony Music Entertainment, and it is currently unknown when the lawsuit will officially go to court, as a trial date has not yet been set.
The Source: The information in this article was gathered from prior FOX 5 Atlanta reporting and the official complaint.