Hip-hop legend Jermaine Dupri is taking Sony Music Entertainment to court, alleging that the music distributor has withheld thousands and thousands in royalties from him and his team. Dupri, known for his work with music titans, including Usher, Ludacris, TLC, and Xscape, filed a lawsuit against the corporate in early July 2026.
Dupri is taking Sony Music Entertainment to court, alleging that the music company has withheld thousands and thousands from him and his label, So-So Def Recordings, and blasted them in legal filings for his or her alleged “deceitful actions.”
Within the filing, reported by PEOPLE, Dupri said he’s helped produce a few of the industry’s biggest songs, which have ultimately brought in over $200 million. Nonetheless, over time he and Sony have worked together, Dupri alleged that the corporate had repeatedly altered documents by underreporting and failing to report royalties.
“[Sony Music Entertainment] intentionally did not account to Plaintiffs to avoid paying thousands and thousands of dollars to the Plaintiffs,” the filing reads.
Jermaine Dupri Reworked His Contract With Sony Music Quite a few Times Between 1992 And 2006
The legal documents claim that Dupri, who entered right into a contract with Sony Music Entertainment in 1992, has reworked his agreement with the corporate “not less than seven times” between ’92 and 2006.
Elsewhere within the filing, it states that the music icon began to consider something unsavory was occurring at the corporate in 2023 when So-So Def Recordings realized they allegedly hadn’t been paid for “multiple releases” over a “substantial” time period.
As for the records, Dupri is alleging within the lawsuit that he’s owed nearly $1 million for his work on Xscape’s “Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha,” and $2.2 million for 2 Kris Kross albums.
Overall, Dupri is searching for $18 million in royalties from Sony and has referenced additional works he’s allegedly missing royalties on by artists similar to Mariah Carey, Usher, and Bow Wow.
Jermaine Dupri Broke His Silence On Why He Believed Xscape Split
While Dupri has worked with a plethora of stellar artists over time, fans can never overlook his role in shaping Xscape into probably the most dominant R&B quartets of the early ’90s. Hits like “Who Can I Run To” and “Just Kickin’ It” are only a number of of the timeless records that helped cement the group’s legacy.
Nonetheless, the band split in 2000 before reuniting briefly in 2005. Speaking with Ebony in 2019, Dupri got candid about how he felt a few of his work with the group actually led to their demise, stating that the songs he wrote caused friction amongst the women.
“They meet Jermaine Dupri, and Jermaine Dupri writes a song and he gives the song to Kandi [Burruss] because Kandi’s voice feels like mine. It’s no other reason that I gave it to her besides the incontrovertible fact that I wanted her to sing the way in which I used to be having T-Boz sing. That created friction from jump,” he said.
While the group has since reunited and performed together, they proved their drama remained after they appeared within the Bravo docuseries “SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B.”
Dupri Took The Super Bowl Stage With Usher In 2024
Along with Xscape, Dupri worked with Usher on a few of his biggest hits, including “Burn,” “Confessions Part II,” and “My Boo.” So, it only made sense for the music staple to look alongside him during his 2024 Super Bowl performance.
Dupri opened up in regards to the special day while speaking with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “It’s amazing to be up there with your folks and to be up there with people who you principally began.”
Based on Dupri, Usher’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 was one they accomplished together, so sharing the stage with the superstar was “definitely, definitely amazing.”
Dupri’s Legacy Continues!
For many who might’ve missed it, Usher’s Super Bowl performance featured Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, and H.E.R. The show also featured Usher and his dancers gliding across the stage in roller skates, something Dupri said paid homage to Atlanta. Dupri described Usher’s performance as “essentially the most electrifying thing I’ve seen on TV” before giving the 47-year-old his props for putting on an excellent performance.
Because the interview was concluding, Dupri reflected on his profession, saying his first No. 1 album was with Kris Kross in 1993. Then, he shifted to reflecting on his current work, specifically with Muni Long. “I got the most popular record on the streets immediately with Muni Long [“Made for Me”] and it’s the most important sensation on TikTok, and I just performed on the Super Bowl,” he said.