1501 Certified Entertainment

Carl Crawford Apologizes To Megan Thee Stallion

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Megan Thee Stallion’s ongoing legal war with Carl Crawford continues after she called out her label 1501 Certified Ent. The Houston rapper claimed that she signed a bad contract early in her career without the opportunity to negotiate. Once she inked a deal with Roc Nation for management, things went further left. Meg claimed that the label blocked her from releasing new music to the dismay of her fans but ultimately, a judge granted her a temporary restraining order that allowed her to drop her album.

Unfortunately, the feud between Meg and Crawford didn’t simply exist in the courtroom but also, bled into the world of social media. While Meg earned plenty of accolades during this period, Crawford’s reputation took a massive hit. During a recent interview with TMZ, he explained that he’s trying to rebuild the label from the ground up after bringing on Kai “Verse” Tyler as the new president of 1501 Certified Ent. Crawford explained that he lacked experience in the music industry, which he partially blamed for his spat with Meg. However, with Tyler’s help, he feels they can reclaim their position in the music industry.

Carl Crawford Says Social Media Soured Megan Thee Stallion Relationship

Even though Megan and Crawford are still duking it out in court, the 1501 Certified Ent. founder acknowledged that he made some mistakes in their relationship. Admitting they haven’t talked since 2019, he said that he “never had problems with Megan Thee Stallion. “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,” he said. “You not gon’ hear me mention Megan Thee Stallion’s name in the media unless I’m doing something like this.”

However, he also addressed the “petty” photo where he posed with Tory Lanez after she accused the Canadian rapper of shooting her. Crawford admitted that he was trying to troll Meg but he stated that he doesn’t have any allegiance to Lanez in this situation. “I don’t stand with nobody in that situation,” he said. “I think I just got wrapped up in the whole scheme of things that was going on. We all make mistakes. I’m not on nobody’s side with that.” Check the full interview with TMZ above and check out the full timeline of Meg vs. Carl Crawford’s issues here.

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Roc Nation CEO Will Sit For Deposition In Megan Thee Stallion, 1501 Case: Report

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The ongoing legal battle between Megan Thee Stallion and 1501 Certified Entertainment recently received another ruling. The rapper has been hush-hush following Tory Lanez’s conviction, and as she gains support from her followers, a judge ruled about Roc Nation’s CEO, Desiree Perez.

According to Billboard, Perez will have to sit for a deposition in the case. Megan’s legal team attempted to have the deposition blocked, citing 1501 was “harassing” the industry leader.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 12: COO at Roc Nation Desiree Perez accepts the Executive of the Year Award onstage during Billboard Women In Music 2019, presented by YouTube Music, on December 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Billboard)

The rapper and her label have been at odds for years. She wants out of her contract and stated she’d fulfilled all necessities to end her agreement with 1501. However, they claim she still owes them another record because one of her projects shouldn’t be counted as an album.

Things have also spilled over onto social media as 1501 boss Carl Crawford often appears with opinions about the Houston Hottie. Following Megan signing a management deal with Roc Nation, the company’s attorneys reportedly told her that the 1501 deal was “well below industry standards.”

The label wanted Perez to sit for a deposition because they called her a key witness. However, Megan’s team tried shielding her with the apex doctrine.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 15: Megan Thee Stallion performs onstage during 2019 Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash at State Farm Arena on June 15, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Read More: Megan Thee Stallion Claims 1501 Certified Ent. Is “Harassing” Roc Nation CEO

The apex doctrine states that “busy top officials only need to testify when they have unique info that can’t be derived from other less burdensome sources,” writes Billboard.

However, 1501 responded by saying Perez was “directly, personally, and substantially involved in the underlying facts of the lawsuit.”

A date hasn’t been shared for the deposition, nor has one been set for the jury trial.

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Megan Thee Stallion Wins Early Round In 1501 Certified Ent. Legal Battle

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Megan Thee Stallion scored a small but significant victory in her battle with 1501 Certified Entertainment.

As Megan Thee Stallion and 1501 Certified Ent. head to court over her contractual obligations to the label, a judge has sided in Meg’s favor in the pre-trial. 1501 submitted a motion that asked the court not to consider her album Something For Thee Hotties as an album. However, the judge rejected the motion, which now allows the case to go to trial, per Rolling Stone.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 24: Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 24, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 24: Megan Thee Stallion attends the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 24, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

The judge’s decision could lead to a bigger win for Meg down the line. If she succeeds during the trial, she’ll be released from 1501 Certified Ent. after fulfilling her contractual obligations.

The Carl Crawford-founded label submitted the motion in September on claims that Something For Thee Hotties wasn’t actually an album. His attorneys claimed that it didn’t meet legal criteria because of previously released material included on the album. They also stated Meg “failed to follow the proper approval procedures” before dropping the album.

In response, Meg claimed that she followed the guidelines for recording the album. She added that she deserved to make her case in front of a judge. Meg said she never released the freestyles and skits commercially on DSPs. She explained these songs don’t qualify as previously released material because they weren’t widely available.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 11: Megan Thee Stallion is seen on October 11, 2022 in New York. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)

Additionally, Megan stated that she revealed 300 Ent., the company she signed a distribution deal with in 2018, “kept 1501 apprised of developments” throughout the process and provided a copy of the project three days before its release. However, she noted that the company didn’t object to the album’s release until 2 months before it was due out.

The trial for her suit against 1501 Certified Ent. will come just after the conclusion of Tory Lanez’s criminal case in Los Angeles. Last week, a jury found the Canadian rapper guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. The court convicted him of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and faces 22 years in prison.

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Megan Thee Stallion Just Picked Up A Legal Win Against Her Former Label Before Their Trial Officially Begins

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While Megan Thee Stallion’s (real name Megan Pete) trial with Tory Lanez is her most pressing matter currently at hand, she’s still involved in another significant legal squabble: Her dispute with 1501 Certified Entertainment, her former label. On that front, though, she just got herself a win.

This summer, it was revealed that in her lawsuit against the label, Megan is asking for $1 million in damages. At the core of the dispute is a disagreement over whether Something For Thee Hotties, Meg’s 2021 project that compiles previously unreleased material and other works, counts as an album when it comes to Meg’s obligations to her record deal with 1501.

In September, 1501 filed a request for a pre-trial ruling (a “partial summary judgment”) declaring that Something For Thee Hotties be deemed not an album. Their argument was that the project it included previously available recordings and “failed to follow the proper approval procedures.” However, yesterday (December 28), a Texas judge denied the label’s request (as Rolling Stone reports), so Meg’s lawsuit can go to trial intact.

Meg replied to the motion on December 19 and it read in part, “Pete should be allowed her day in court to present evidence and testimony to the jury demonstrating that she has done all that was required of her in the delivery and release of her albums.”

Had the judge ruled in 1501’s favor, Megan would still owe the label another new album.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion Wants Warner Music To Reveal Who Could Have Leaked ‘Traumazine’

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Megan Thee Stallion wants answers after her second studio album, Traumazine, was leaked early, and she’s demanded information from her label’s distributor to get them. According to Billboard, Meg’s lawyers filed documents in court today asking a judge to order Warner Music Group, the parent company of 300 Entertainment, which distributes Megan’s label 1501 Certified Entertainment, to hand over a list of anyone who was given early access to the album to determine who leaked it.

It’s likely that Megan wants the information to prove that the leak came from 1501 Certified itself due to her ongoing lawsuit against the label to be released from her contract. In the lawsuit, she previously accused 1501 of sabotaging the release while demanding $1 million in allegedly unpaid royalties. Her legal actions have led to a bitter war of words between herself and 1501’s founder Carl Crawford, with occasional dispatches from Houston rap royal J Prince. However, although today’s filing does not accuse WMG of the leak, it does leave open the possibility that the leak did not originate from 1501, in which case, due to the limited nature of the preview links that were shared, there could only be a few suspects — including Warner employees.

“Pete does not, at this time, accuse WMG of intentionally releasing her album, but does believe that receiving documents and communications from WMG related to Traumazine and its release should help discover who improperly leaked her artistic work,” Meg’s lawyers wrote. “In addition to documents and communications, Pete wishes to ascertain who all received access to Traumazine through WMG.”

In addition, she’s asked the court to also compel Cablevision and Datacamp, a pair of internet service providers, to give up the leakers’ IP information.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Why Is Megan Thee Stallion Suing 1501 Certified Entertainment?

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Earlier this year, Megan Thee Stallion sued her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. Despite having a very successful career to date, the Houston rapper had previously expressed discontent with her record deal after hiring Roc Nation management.

According to Megan, there were a number of terms in the contract that she felt gave 1501 profits from her music the company didn’t deserve — including from such peripheral revenue streams as merch and touring. Things came to a head in March when Megan filed her lawsuit, asking a court to rule that her 2021 release, Something For Thee Hotties, had fulfilled the terms of her contract. In short, she wants to be released from 1501 ASAP.

However, 1501 countersued, arguing that Something For Thee Hotties should not count as an album, because it was not made up of all original material. Meg says that shouldn’t matter because it fulfills the length requirements set forth in the contract and should count as her fourth album, satisfying the five-album term of the contract. Even without it, she feels the recently released Traumazine would also count. After Traumazine‘s release, Megan amended her lawsuit, adding a request for $1 million from 1501, saying that the label hadn’t given her all the royalties she was owed for the albums she created in her time there.

On Twitter, Megan defended her lawsuit reasoning, asserting that her success was self-made and that 1501 did not have as great a hand in her career as its founder, Carl Crawford, has said. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement — which doesn’t seem likely, considering this dispute has been going on since 2020 — it’ll likely come down to a judge to determine whether Megan gets off 1501, 1501 gets a cut of Meg’s merch profits, or Meg gets $1 million from 1501.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

What Did Carl Crawford Say To Megan Thee Stallion?

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Megan Thee Stallion has been at odds with her label 1501 Certified Entertainment, led by former MLB outfielder Carl Crawford, since early 2020. The two have been engaged in an ongoing back-and-forth over contract issues, with the Traumazine artist claiming her music was being withheld from release and that she wasn’t being paid. Crawford, meanwhile, alleged that she was given a generous contract and he has been funding her shows. The situation heated up even more back in March 2022, when the legal discourse became personal and claims of alcoholism and drug use came into play.

In a March 21 Instagram post, Carl Crawford accused the Houston artist of lying and hiding behind her management, Roc Nation. The “Plan B” artist responded, writing, “Carl I don’t wanna be signed to yo pill popping ass! You talking abt I ain’t paid for a show and you sound slow. Im the artist I don’t pay you directly maybe fight with THE MAN YOU SIGNED TO AND YOU MIGHT SEE SOME MONEY YOU F*CKING POWDER HEAD! You hiding behind JPRINCE”

As the situation continued, Crawford followed up with a denial of Megan’s claims before escalating the situation even further. “This all Coming from a Bonafide Alcoholic who f*cked the whole industry including her best friend n****.” With Traumazine out now and the contract issues rearing their head once again, Megan Thee Stallion has been very vocal on Twitter. J Prince has also thrown his opinion into the mix with a lengthy Instagram post about Megan breaching her contract.

In short, it’s all very messy and it’s unclear who is in the right.

Check out the March back and forth above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion Rips Her Label For Taking Credit For Her Fame: ‘If You Wanna Be Real I Developed 1501’

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The war of words between former baseball star turned record label owner Carl Crawford and his most successful signee Megan Thee Stallion continues to escalate as Meg pushes to leave Crawford’s label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. Yesterday, when headlines broke about Meg’s amended lawsuit demanding $1 million from 1501 in addition to her request to break off her record deal, J Prince posted a(nother) lengthy caption on Instagram defending Crawford. That’s when Megan went on the offensive, posting a flurry of tweets that ripped Crawford, Prince, and 1501 for allegedly trying to take credit for her career.

“Im so over these grown ass men trying to take credit away from the work me and my mama put into the beginning of my career…” she wrote. “me and my mom “developed” my career I was already known for free styling and I was already working on Tina snow before I got to 1501.”

In the string of follow-up tweets, Meg pointed out Crawford’s relative inexperience in the music business, clarified that initially, she only wanted to renegotiate her original contract, pointed out 1501’s inability to launch any similarly successful acts, and dismissed an accusation from Crawford that she isn’t really from Houston while lambasting him for trying to stay “hip” in his 40s. You can see the full stream of thoughts below with a summary at the end.

When my mama died I knew a bunch of hood niggas who just started a label for the FIRST time were not gonna be able to manage me PROPERLY so I got with roc…by this time I was a bigger artist and I asked to renegotiate… NOT LEAVE what was wrong with that ? That man is GREEDY

Like for this man to keep getting on the internet with his back up to talk like he made me is ridiculous… was you writing my songs ? Were you with me in my dorm room recording me rapping ? What abt all that rapping out side my mamma car ? Think cyphers?? I ain’t even know YOU

If you wanna be REALLL I DEVELOPED 1501

They keep signing people and everyone got the same story … go find allll the girls and the guys that started over there with me and some of the girls after me… ask anybody in Houston how that man is fake ass Nigga talked so much shit abt jprince now that’s your bestie ok 😂🙄

I only respond when people say my name so all them weirdo comments abt “I’m looking for sympathy and attention” is DEAD…talk to me & ima talk back when I feel like it🤷🏽‍♀️ I don’t need validation from the internet but I’m not weak either … beat me in court not the comment section

One more thing bc he still going this 42 year old man said he never heard a story abt me playing as a kid where I’m from … sir I would hope 42 year old men couldn’t tell you where I was playing at as a kid

Now I’m just a made up character from Houston? Nobody in Houston knows me ? I just started “claiming Houston” when I got famous.. like it ain’t school pictures and some more shit out in the world

When the hate don’t work they just start saying anythingggg 😂 like who is ask anybody? All them 18 year old girls that you hanging with at 42? Cause they damn sure ain’t gone know me either

im done responding 🥱 stop bringing up where I’m from and bring me my MONEY gn internet

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion Demands $1 Million From Her Label As ‘Traumazine’ Satisfies Her Contract

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Now that Megan Thee Stallion has released her second album, Traumazine, she argues she should be done with her record deal, according to new legal filings in her lawsuit against 1501 Certified Entertainment reported by Rolling Stone. Not only that, but she’s now also demanding $1 million in damages from the label after previously only asking for non-monetary relief.

Megan initially sued the label in February, asking the court to grant her a release from her contract with 1501, arguing that her 2021 release Something For Thee Hotties should count as her fourth obligated album. The label later countersued on the grounds that the compilation project was not made up of original recordings and couldn’t be considered an album under the terms of the contract. For what it’s worth, she’s now released seven projects under 1501 including her breakout EP Tina Snow and her official debut album Good News.

Meg’s amended suit maintains that 1501 has not paid her share of royalties from her music. Furthermore, she’s also accusing the label of leaking Traumazine, forcing her to release the album early. She says she’s hired forensic investigators to get to the bottom of the leak. Meanwhile, 1501 founder Carl Crawford has asserted his own view that Megan has yet to share percentages of profits from touring and merchandise, which he says their contract entitles him to.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

ICYMI: Megan Thee Stallion Drops New Sophomore Album “Traumazine”

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MTS TRAUMAZINE FINAL

Megan Thee Stallion surprised fans with the announcement of her sophomore album Traumazine. The GRAMMY award-winning Rapstar took to social media on Thursday to announce Traumazine will be hitting streaming platforms today via 1501 Certified Ent/ 300 Ent.  

She released a cover art and a tracklist that includes features from Pooh Shiesty, Latto, Jhené Aiko, and more.  She also shared a teaser trailer for the album which shows her attending a funeral and placing a rose on top of a casket. 

READ MORE: Inside The Looks of Megan Thee Stallion’s New Video “Plan B” Styled and Directed By Mugler

After 4 EPs, Fever, Make It Hot, Tina Snow and Suga and her 2 LPs, Good News and Something For Thee Hotties, the 27 year-old rapper, entrepreneur and philanthropist, unleashes her deepest thoughts and touches on her journey of self-actualization and dealing with trauma.

 The 18-track LP Traumazine follows Thee Stallion’s 2022 Billboard Music Awards “Top Rap Female Artist” win, her second consecutive victory. Boasting features from the hottest names in Hip Hop and R&B including, Future, Pooh Shiesty, Latto, Key Glock, Jhené Aiko, Rico Nasty, and Lucky Daye, as well as Houston heavyweights such as Sauce Walka, Big Pokey & Lil Keke, Traumazine is on par to keep the hot girl coach’s winning tradition. 

Take a listen to the latest effort from Megan Thee Stallion, Traumazine below. 

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