It’s been several years since A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane” was one of the biggest hits on the radio, but as AllHipHop reports, the song is now at the centre of a lawsuit against Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. According to producer Kerry D. Brown, the renowned music label used his copyrighted beats on both that track, and more recently, on GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” last year. The Krushial K. Productions managing member claims he previously met with RN’s vice president, Lenny Santiago in Houston in 2015, at which time the former gave the latter samples of his instrumentals in hopes of building a future working relationship.
Their meeting took place at The Hotel Derek’s Dealmakers Conference, and Brown asserts that he never transferred the official rights to his music when sharing the samples. In the following years, the southern-born creative came to realize that two of his instrumentals – “You Don’t Know Nothing About Me” and “AUDIOBOX Instrumentals” – were used without his permission on the aforementioned hits. In his lawsuit, Brown has chiefly named Roc Nation, Santiago, Sony Music Entertainment Digital, LLC and Blac Noize Recordings LLC.
Kerry D. Brown Calls Out Roc Nation Over “Plain Jane” & “F.N.F.”
“Within 21 days after this summons on you (not counting the day you received it — or 60 days if you are the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(2) or (3),” documents previously obtained by AllHipHop read. “You must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney.”
The producer made it clear that he didn’t receive a Notice of Intent to Use or any paid royalties from any parties involved. With his legal actions, he’s hoping to sue the label and others for copyright infringement, unfair competition, and paid attorney fees. Do you believe Kerry D. Brown’s allegations against Roc Nation? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in later for more hip-hop news updates.