Credit: Wikimedia

Jermaine Dupri has sued Sony Music for $18 million.

The 53-year-old has claimed the label underpaid him and concealed royalties over his music with Usher, Bow Wow, Mariah Carey, Kris Kross, Da Brat, and Xscape.

According to Rolling Stone, Dupri has accused Sony of knowingly violating contracts with him and his So So Def label.

Filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawsuit reads, “Given the systemic pattern of underreporting royalties, failure of reporting royalties, and altering and/or updating statements to report previously earned royalties, [Sony Music Entertainment] has engaged in wilful deceitful actions designed to harm plaintiffs in their business.”

Dupri founded So So Def in 1993, with Sony Music serving as its parent company until 2002. He has produced 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The documents cite Jagged Edge’s 1997 album, The Jagged Era, and Mariah Carey’s hit single ‘We Belong Together’, while noting his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the fact that he’s a Grammy winner.

“Dupri is a musical icon whose recordings on So-So Def and production with other artists have produced over $200,000,000 in gross revenue in the music industry,” the suit states.

It continues, “Given that the matter of unreported producer royalties is not an isolated issue, evident by the above, it is likely that SME did not report producer royalties to plaintiffs for producer services rendered in connection with other artists associated with the So-So Def/SME deals.”

Dupri released his last solo album, Magic City, in September 2025, with features from T.I., Ludacris, Quavo, Travis Porter, Young Dro, Killer Mike, Lil Jon, and others.

It served as his first solo project in 24 years following the release of Instructions in 2001.