Nelly Sued By St. Lunatics Over 'Country Grammar' Credits and Royalties

Nelly faces a new lawsuit from his former St. Lunatics collaborators over his debut album.

In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court reviewed by Billboard, attorneys for the St. Lunatics claim they were cut out of production credits and royalties for their contributions to Nelly’s 2000 album, Country Grammar.

The group allege that the 49-year-old rapper, born Cornell Haynes, repeatedly “manipulated” them into believing that they would be compensated for their contributions to the album but never followed through.

“Every time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” read the lawsuit, per the magazine. “Unfortunately, plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.”

Members Ali Jones, Murphy Lee (born Tohri Harper), Robert Kyjuan, and, City Spud (Lavell Webb) claimed that they were involved in writing several songs—including “Steal The Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl,” “Batter Up,” “Wrap Sumden,” and the album’s title track, but were not properly credited.

The St. Lunatics members also said that Nelly “privately and publicly acknowledged” that the plaintiffs were the lyric writers during and after the Country Grammar recording sessions.

It wasn’t until two decades later that the members discovered that Nelly “had been lying to them the entire time.”

“Despite repeatedly promising plaintiffs that they would receive full recognition and credit… it eventually became clear that defendant Haynes had no intention of providing the plaintiffs with any such credit or recognition,” the group’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.

Despite failed attempts to resolve the issue with an attorney who reached out to Universal Music Publishing Group on their behalf, the St. Lunatics resorted to legal action.

However, Billboard notes that the lawsuit is styled as a copyright infringement case, with the St. Lunatics claiming Nelly used their songs without their permission, as opposed to a copyright ownership case.

The former can be filed decades after an alleged infringing song is released but the latter has a three-year statute of limitations. The distinction, which Nelly’s legal counsel could argue is an ownership case, could create a legal hurdle for the group.

Country Grammar, which featured hit singles like “Ride Wit Me” and “E.I.,” topped the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for five weeks upon its release in 2000. In 2016, the LP became the eighth rap album to be certified Diamond by the RIAA, which commemorates sales for 10 million or more copies.

The St. Lunatics gained notoriety for their 1996 single “Gimme What U Got” and then released their debut album Free City in 2001, just a year after Country Grammar dropped, and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Member Ali had previously criticized Nelly on social media in 2021, accusing him of having “hustled” the group among other claims. Nelly responded by disputing his original role in the group, suggesting he was only on board as a manager.

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