Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def Recordings imprint have sued Sony Music Entertainment in federal court in New York, alleging that the record company underpaid royalties and breached contracts governing a decades-long business relationship. AllHipHop broke the news on Tuesday.
The complaint, filed July 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks more than $18 million in damages, plus prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees, and other relief. The plaintiffs also demand a jury trial.
According to the complaint, Sony failed to properly account for royalties owed under recording and production agreements dating back more than 30 years. The lawsuit alleges the company underreported royalty income, omitted certain royalty streams, and later amended accounting statements after the alleged discrepancies came to light.
“As it turns out, many of SME’s dealings with So So Def have not been lawful and have harmed So So Def in its business,” the complaint states.
The dispute involves royalties generated by recordings from several artists associated with the So So Def label, including Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Usher, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, J-Kwon and Bone Crusher.
Music Producer Jermaine Dupri Files $18 Million Lawsuit Against Sony Over So So Def Royalties
A central allegation concerns royalties from Kris Kross’ albums “Totally Krossed Out” and “Da Bomb.” Dupri claims Sony did not report producer and override royalties associated with those recordings until 2023 and continues to owe more than $2.2 million.
“SME attempted to conceal all Kris Kross royalties due Plaintiffs for over 20 years in a separate royalty accounting system unknown to Plaintiffs,” the complaint alleges.
The suit further contends Sony underreported producer royalties tied to Xscape’s “Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha” and Da Brat’s “Funkdafied,” while improperly maintaining a negative recoupment balance against Xscape’s account despite platinum sales.
Dupri alleges a 2025 desk audit conducted by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman uncovered the accounting irregularities. The complaint asserts Sony knowingly violated its contractual obligations, stating, “SME knew that it was violating the contracts with the Plaintiffs and never attempted to disclose its contemptuous accounting practices to the Plaintiffs.”
Sony had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time the complaint was filed.
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