Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne has reportedly worked out a sweet deal by finally settling a $20 million lawsuit surrounding his 2008 Tha Carter III hit, “Lollipop.”
While settlement details are scarce, reports claim Wayne has come down to an agreement.
Lil Wayne has finally struck a truce with a bitter ex-producer over the Grammy Award-winning “Lollipop” and other songs — settling the producer’s $20 lawsuit out of court. TMZ broke the story … producer Darius Harrison — aka Deezle — sued Weezy over the album “Tha Carter III,” claiming he produced several songs on the record, including “Lollipop,” but was never paid for his work. According to Darius, the album grossed over $70 million — and he wanted $20 million to call it even. Wayne initially shot him down — claiming Darius had no grounds to sue — but the two parties recently reached a confidential agreement, finally settling the case. The case has since been dismissed. (TMZ)
Reports of the $20 million lawsuit began to make headlines in March 2011.
The $20 million lawsuit claims that Deezle, who says he produced “Whip It,” “Prostitute 2,” “Action,” “Mrs. Officer” and “Let the Beat Build” as well as “Lollipop,” is entitled to his cut of royalties on the reported $70 million the album has grossed on sales of 6 million copies. “Lollipop” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won a Grammy for Best Rap Song in 2009. Harrison previously sued Wayne for $2.5 million over what he claimed were unpaid royalties from the sales of “Mrs. Officer.” The liner notes to Carter list Harrison as a co-producer along with Jim Jonsin on “Lollipop” and as the recording engineer on most of the other songs on the disc. A spokesperson for Wayne and Young Money/ Cash Money could not be reached for comment at press time on the lawsuit. (MTV)
Back in 2010, Carter III producer Jim Jonson, who also worked on the “Lollipop” anthem, said it was time for Weezy to pay up.
“We’re still trying to get paid. Clearly, I don’t understand what the issue is. They’ve collected checks, they’re buying Bugattis, but the people that created the songs are not getting paid. And so we’re going through some things now in hopes that it gets fixed…[“Lollipop”] was like the most downloaded song in history, so pay the people who made it. It’s not your record, it’s our record.” (VIBE)
Jonsin, much like Deezie, also took legal action to get paid in full.
On behalf of himself and his company, Rebel Rock Productions, Jim Jonsin, whose real name is James Scheffer, sued Young Money Entertainment in Manhattan Federal Court. Scheffer says “Lollipop” has garnered more than 4 million downloads and more than $4 million in ringtone sales. Scheffer says the rapper promised semi-annual accounting statements, but skipped the statements due in December 2008 and June 2009. When it did provide them, the statements “grossly underreported the monies due plaintiff and were not accompanied by any payment,” Scheffer says. (Court House News)
