JAY-Z‘s Roc Nation has been accused of stealing hit singles for A$AP Ferg and GloRilla.
According to AllHipHop, Houston-based music producer Kerry D. Brown — the managing member of Krushial K. Productions — has accused Hov’s company of using his copyrighted beats without permission.
The allegations involve A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane,” which was released in 2017, along with GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” from 2022.
Per the lawsuit, Brown claims he met Roc Nation vice president Lenny Santiago (known as Lenny S.) at The Dealmakers Conference at The Hotel Derek in Houston, Texas in 2015.
He apparently gave Santiago samples of his instrumentals with an eye to build a relationship going forward, but never transferred the rights to his music at that point.
Brown says he then found out his two instrumentals, “You Don’t Know Nothing About Me” and “AUDIOBOX Instrumentals,” were used for “Plain Jane” and “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” without permission.
Roc Nation, Lenny Santiago, Sony Music Entertainment Digital, LLC and Blac Noize Recordings LLC have all been named in the lawsuit.
“A lawsuit has been filed against you,” the lawsuit reads. “Within 21 days after this summons on you (not counting the day you received it — or 60 days if you are the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(2) or (3).
“You must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney.”
Brown claims neither Roc Nation or any other parties obtained a Notice of Intent to Use or paid royalties to Krushial K. Productions for using the copyrighted material in A$AP Ferg and GloRilla’s songs.
He says the only Notice of Intent to Use he received came from Spotify, with Brown and Krushial K. Productions claiming they still haven’t received anything for the alleged unauthorized use of the “Plain Jane” and “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” beats.
Brown and Krushial K. Productions are suing for copyright infringement and unfair competition, along with attorney fees.
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