Nas’ Mass Appeal label is facing a racial discrimination lawsuit from the company’s former head of development, Melissa Cooper. Cooper, who is white, says she dealt with “venomous and racist comments about ‘white folk’ and ‘crackers,’” during her tenure at the imprint. She filed the lawsuit in a Manhattan court on Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cooper recalled a time she and her co-workers were working on a Freaknik documentary that’s set to air on Hulu in 2024. She claims the senior vice president for partnerships and content acquisition, Jenya Meggs, who is Black, complained that Cooper made it into the final cut and she didn’t. The woman allegedly texted an executive producer it was “usual white folk behavior.” Tensions apparently flared up between the two and Peter Bittenbender, the company’s chief executive, removed Cooper from the project.
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“Bittenbender removed Cooper from a number of projects, including Mass Appeal’s Hip Hop 50 Live concert at Yankee Stadium planned for August 11, 2023,” the lawsuit reads. “Cooper’s removal from this important project, along with others Meggs was staffed on, effectively stripped Cooper of her primary role at Mass Appeal.” She never mentions Nas by name and the company eventually let her go back in June. She says there hasn’t been an investigation into her claims of racial discrimination.
The lawsuit comes as Nas prepares to release his long-awaited album, I Am… The Autobiography. The project is finally getting an official release for Record Store Day’s Black Friday lineup. The vinyl will include two unreleased tracks and feature special edition deluxe packaging. Other projects include De La Soul‘s 3 Feet High and Rising, Three 6 Mafia‘s Da Unbreakables, and Goodie Mob‘s Soul Food. Be on the lookout for further updates on the lawsuit against Mass Appeal on HotNewHipHop.
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