Nelly Sued by Former St. Lunatics Bandmates Over Claims He Denied Them Songwriting Credits on His 2000 Debut Album

St. Lunatics members Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Lavell Webb are seeking at least $50 million

Rapper Nelly is being sued by four former bandmates who claim the Grammy-winning star failed to give them songwriting credits for a number of songs on his hit debut album Country Grammar.

St. Lunatics members Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Lavell Webb filed a copyright infringement complaint against Nelly, 49, in a New York court on Sept. 18, alleging the rapper manipulated them for years by falsely promising they’d receive credit, and therefore royalties, on eight of his songs.

“It eventually became clear that [Nelly] had no intention of providing the Plaintiffs with any such credit or recognition,” the complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE, says. “Not only did [Nelly] fraudulently represent to others that he was a writer and/or creator of the [songs], he also… allowed other individuals within his circle to receive credit and publishing income for songs written by Plaintiffs.”

An attorney for Nelly did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Nelly (né Cornell Haynes) and Ali (né Ali Jones), Murphy Lee (né Torhi Harper), Kyjuan (né Robert Kyjuan Cleveland) and Webb were childhood friends who grew up together in St. Louis, and in 1993, formed the hip-hop group St. Lunatics.

The complaint alleges that between 1993 and 1997, the plaintiffs did most of the group’s songwriting, while Nelly’s talent lay more in performing. In 2000, the St. Lunatics signed a record deal with Universal, and Nelly did the same as a solo artist.

His album was set to be released first, so the plaintiffs started writing lyrics to what would become the eight songs in question, according to the complaint: “Steal the Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl,” “Country Grammar,” “Wrap Something/Sumden,” “Batter Up,” “Iz U,” “Go” and “Gimme What You Got.”

The complaint claims that Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Webb wrote all of the songs’ lyrics, while Nelly provided “some lyrical arrangement and writing.” They say Nelly never disputed the fact that they wrote and arranged the lyrics, and they claim to have video of their recording sessions, during which Nelly “freely admits” that they are the writers of the songs on Country Grammar.

Country Grammar came out in 2000, and went on to sell more than 10 million copies. The plaintiffs’ only studio album, Free City, came out in 2001, and sold more than 1 million copies. “Steal the Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl, “Country Grammar,” “Wrap Something/Sumden” and “Batter Up” are all featured on Country Grammar, while “Iz U” is on Nelly’s 2003 album Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, and “Go” appears on his 2010 album 5.0.

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The hip-hop stars allege they were “repeatedly assured” by Nelly and his representatives that they would receive proper credit for the songs, but ultimately discovered in 2020 that Nelly had “been lying to them the entire time,” according to the complaint.

In 2021, they hired an attorney, who sent a letter to Nelly asking him to make good on his promise to give them credit; per the complaint, he denied their claims on authorship or joint authorship over the songs, and said the statute of limitations had expired.

“As a result of [Nelly’s] conduct, Plaintiffs have been completely deprived, and continue to be deprived, of any income, monies, royalties or other form of remuneration from the distribution, use, commercialization, sale, public performance or other exploitation of the [songs] via exploitation of [Country Grammar].

Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Webb are seeking at least $50 million, as well as attorneys’ fees.

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