Since 2018, Megan Thee Stallion and 1501 Certified Entertainment have been a powerhouse combo in Houston. Megan soon established herself as the hottie in the world of female rap, uplifting the fledgling label in the process. However, the relationship quickly soured thanks to ugly allegations, personal attacks, and lawsuits.
After Tory Lanez shot Megan, she soon found herself in the crosshairs of 1501 Certified Entertainment and its CEO, Carl Crawford. To make matters worse, it all played out on social media. The big question is: Can 1501 Certified Entertainment survive its drama with Megan Thee Stallion?
2016: The Launch Of 1501 Certified Entertainment
Former MLB player and Houston native Carl Crawford had thought about starting a music label for years and took a leap of faith once he retired. Carl teamed up with T. Farris, who had extensive ties to the Houston rap community. According to the label’s website, its mission was “to give undiscovered and underprivileged artists an opportunity to grow and shine.”
Carl and T. Farris got to work and signed their first artist, local rapper HardyBoy Pigg. While HardyBoy told Complex that things were all good at first, once he got locked up, he claimed his label “left me for dead the whole time I was in jail.” He also asserted they wouldn’t release his music, which would be echoed by other artists in the years to come.
February 2018: Megan Signs A Deal
The record label caught its first real break when it signed up-and-coming female rapper Megan Thee Stallion in February 2018. However, Carl said he wasn’t involved in drafting Megan’s deal. Instead, he claimed Megan’s mother and fellow rapper, Holly “Holly-Wood” Thomas, and T. Farris were involved. Despite who was in the room or not, Megan quickly established herself as a rising star.
Megan’s debut EP, Tina Snow, was released in June and her breakout hit, “Big Ole Freak,” proved she was the real deal. While Megan was burning up the charts, she leveraged her new success to her benefit. In November, she became the first female rapper to sign with 300 Entertainment.
September 2019: Roc Nation & J. Prince
Both Megan and 1501 Certified Entertainment shook things up in a major way in September 2019. Megan announced she had inked a management deal with Roc Nation and that T. Farris would be her road manager. On the very same day, Carl had his own announcement. He let the world know he was also linking up with somebody new.
It turned out to be none other than the controversial music executive and CEO of Rap-A-Lot, J. Prince. Posting a photo of himself and Carl on Instagram, J. Prince wrote, “The music business is a business filled with sharks and cut throat people.” He also congratulated Carl for breaking his “first artist” Megan and continued by writing he was proud to be Carl’s new business partner. Prince concluded with, “Surprise to all that had plans on taking something from him, good luck with that. This is just the beginning.” By the next month, Carl would confirm he and Megan were no longer on speaking terms.
March 2020: Free Megan From 1501 Certified Entertainment
J Prince speaks on the Megan Thee Stallion & Carl Crawford situation. pic.twitter.com/4uZtpOACv2
— SAY CHEESE!
(@SaycheeseDGTL) March 5, 2020
In March 2020, Megan started accusing 1501 of not releasing her music and owing her money because she wanted to renegotiate what she considered an unfair deal. That caused the hashtags #FREEMEG and #FREETHEESTALLION to trend. This was also around when Megan filed her first lawsuit against the label.
J. Prince, who was included in the lawsuit, started the smear campaign off early. He posted on Instagram, “Megan [Thee Stallion], along with Roc Nation Employee Geetanjali Grace Lyer, decided to include my name in a lawsuit wrapped around lies and stupidity. We gone get this sh*t straight.” He accused Roc Nation of being “culture vultures” and said Megan was tripping because she had a good deal.
June 2020: Knockoff Megan Thee Stallion
With Megan no longer 1501’s hot girl, they felt they had to get another one, and she turned out to be Erica Banks. The Dallas native was immediately compared to and called Megan’s knockoff. Many remarked that she and Megan had a similar flow and style and even physically resembled each other. That led to fans calling Carl and J. Prince petty for trying to find a replacement Megan.
When HNHH interviewed Erica, she replied “no” to whether she had reached out to Megan “to squash things” and if she was open to it. Many assumed the two were beefing and that Carl and J. Prince were trying to pit the women against each other. While both femcees denied there was ever an issue between them, perception is everything, and 1501 got dragged once again.
July 2020: Tory Lanez Shooting
The hip-hop world was shook when Tory Lanez was accused of shooting Megan in the foot on July 12, 2020. Fans of each artist were quickly divided, usually along gender lines. Despite Megan’s troubles with 1501, many assumed they would have her back, but they were wrong. Not only would Carl and J. Prince continue to attack Megan, but they would also get beyond petty.
Only months later, Erica Banks posted Tory enjoying her “Buss It” challenge on her IG page. Tory shared a video of him having women twerk to the song, and Erica reposted it with the caption, “@torylanez goin Crazy BUSS ITTTTT KEEP STREAMING!” Megan’s fans immediately called foul and felt as if Erica was Team Tory, and by extension, so was 1501 Certified Entertainment.
March 2021: Another Scorned Lady
Megan wasn’t the only woman in rap fed up with 1501 Certified Entertainment. Enter Kona Lisa, who signed to the label but had issues by March 2021. In a video, she let it be known that she was over 1501. Kona Lisa rapped, “No I’m not from Dallas but I’m still a star b*tch / My label they ain’t really f*ckin wit me ’cause they found out I was a smart b*tch.” She added that she should’ve signed with Gucci Mane’s Icy Entertainment instead of 1501. Another day, another woman scorned by 1501.
December 2021: Another Megan Copycat
If signing Erica wasn’t enough, 1501 Certified Entertainment decided to ratchet up the pettiness by signing yet another female rapper. In December 2021, Carl signed Martina Marie. It didn’t help that on Instagram, Martina went by “THEE Martina Marie.” Fans weren’t having it and called out 1501 for being shady and underhanded. Things were starting to become really messy, and 1501 wasn’t looking good in the court of public opinion.
February 2022: Premature Celebration
J Prince on Megan thee Stallion pic.twitter.com/X8p82BR0rK
— Baller Alert
(@balleralert) August 24, 2022
In February 2022, Carl celebrated Megan dismissing her lawsuit, but that wasn’t the truth. Carl commented on an article about the case on Instagram, “Only the real [H]town can relate. Now tell em to run my bread dating all the way back from 2018.” This caused Megan to respond with: “This dude never know wtf is going on with his business. The case that Was dismissed against you was from when you wasn’t trying to let me drop music.” She added, “we are most definitely STILL IN COURT and YOU STILL GETTING SUED BC YOU OWE ME MONEY!!! I AINT NEVER BEEN PAID FROM 1501 IN MY LIFE !”
Megan wasn’t done, “Grown ass men wanna bully me and eat off my name and paint me out as a villain online bc they know these bandwagon ass haters gone eat that sh*t up !” Megan said she was sick of being picked on and painted like she was the problem. But, with Carl and J. Prince at the helm, that wouldn’t stop anytime soon.
March 2021: 1501 Certified Entertainment Countersuit
The tension between 1501 and Megan continued to get thicker when Carl took a page out of Megan’s book and sued her. Megan went on Twitter and recommended Carl take his money issues to 300 Entertainment. Carl clapped back that money wasn’t an issue since he still paid for her shows. Megan responded, “Carl I don’t wanna be signed to you pill popping ass! You talking abt I ain’t paid for a show and you sound slow.” Not backing down, Megan added, “THE MAN YOU SIGNED TO AND YOU MIGHT SEE SOME MONEY YOU F*CKING POWDER HEAD! You hiding behind JPRINCE.”
Carl responded, “This all Coming from a Bonafide Alcoholic who f*cked the whole industry including her best friend n*gga [facepalm emoji].” Yes, major shots were fired, but people were once again slamming Carl for being a man much older than Megan going after her so hard publicly. But, this was only the beginning.
April 2022: Carl Hanging With Tory Lanez
Carl was hanging out in a club in April 2022 and wasn’t alone. He was seen in a video chopping it up with J. Prince and Tory Lanez. Laughing and partying, Carl posted the clip with the caption, “U never know who u might bump into in the [emojis].” He also added the hashtag #ProtectBlackMen that many saw as a direct hit on Megan.
The internet was up in arms and used it as proof that Carl, J. Prince, and 1501 Certified Entertainment had chosen their side in the Megan-Tory situation. Regardless of what was happening, fans were outraged that the men would side with Tory when he committed violence against a Black woman. Carl was slowly but surely becoming public enemy number one.
February 2023: Carl Apologizes
As the lawsuits continued to make their way through the system and after Tory Lanez was convicted of shooting Megan in January, Carl decided to apologize. Speaking to TMZ, Carl admitted that the beef with Megan hurt his reputation and 1501. He explained he was working to rebuild the label and had brought in a new president, Kai “Verse” Tyler.
Carl also stated his lack of knowledge about the music business contributed to his tarnished relationship with Megan. Although he hadn’t spoken to Megan since 2019, he claimed he never really had a problem with her. Carl said, “It’s just the social media stuff, it turned really, really sour. You take this social media part out of it, we don’t have a problem.”
Shockingly, Carl even said he took the photo with Tory to troll Megan but wasn’t siding with him. He added, “I don’t stand with nobody in that situation. I think I just got wrapped up in the whole scheme of things that was going on. We all make mistakes.” After everything that happened, Carl hoped bringing in Kai as president could help get him and his company on the right foot and look better in the industry and the public.
1501 Certified Entertainment Going Forward
The problem is too much damage may have been done for 1501 Certified Entertainment to try to repair its image. Besides mishandling Megan in every way possible, other artists have accused the label of shady deals. Plus, it didn’t help that everything played out on social media. Although Carl seems to have learned his lesson, this could be a case of too little, too late.
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