What's The Real Story Behind Drake's Management Lawsuit?

The situation keeps getting more complicated.

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Complex Original

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Last week, news surfaced that Drake may be getting scammed out of millions of dollars. Today, a legal document reveals that Drake is in fact at the center of a serious legal battle. You can read the entire document outlining the case here.

The intro reads:

On or about 2007/2008, Plaintiffs discovered the rap artist professionally known as "Drake" and introduced him to Defendants to help further his entertainment career. Since Plaintiff's discovery of Drake, his career has been wildly successful. He has sold millions of records and received countless awards. Plaintiffs and Defendants had an agreement to split profits associated with Drake's success. Despite their agreement, Defendants have failed to pay or account to Plaintiffs in accordance to the agreement. In fact, Defendants actions suggest that they are attempting to oust Plaintiffs from the Drake business altogether. Defendants have also failed to pay or account to Drake. By not paying Plaintiffs or Drake, Defendants have put the entire Drake business in jeopardy. As such, Defendants are causing great injury to Plaintiffs.

From this point on, things get complicated, and Drake isn't actually named as a plaintiff, but the money he's generated during his career is causing some issues for the man who discovered him and the teams who are managing him. Here are the basics of the case:

  • The man filing the suit is James "Jas" Prince.
  • The defendants are Aspire Music Group, Cortez Bryant, Laurant Management, Three Kings, Gerald Roberson, and Derrick Lawrence.
  • James Prince claims that after discovering Drake, he entered into an oral agreement with the defendants in which they said they would use their connections and influence to get Drake signed by Lil Wayne and to promote Drake once he was signed. In exchange, Prince would take the lead in managing Drake and profits would be split accordingly.
  • After the oral agreement was made, Cortez Bryant went and signed Drake to an exclusive management deal without telling Prince.
  • Prince claims that he never received his cut of the money and that the original agreement with Bryant was not honored. He believes that Bryant is trying to cut him out of the business completely.
  • In an attempt to resolve the issue, both parties entered a settlement agreement, but Prince claims he was never paid, and the reason he was given was that Drake hasn't been paid either.
  • James is seeking accounting information and monetary relief for all breaches of contract.

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