Nelly has been hit with a hefty lawsuit by his former St. Lunatics crew, accusing their longtime friend and collaborator of pulling the strings behind the scenes like a true puppeteer.
According to Billboard, on Wednesday (Sept. 18), the St. Lunatics slapped the St. Louis-raised rhymer (real name Cornell Hayes) with a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, accusing their former frontman of pulling some shady moves. The complaint claims that Nelly “manipulated” his crew into believing they’d eventually score a major payday for their work on his 2000 smash Country Grammar—which, by the way, spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
“Every time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” the lawsuit states. Trusting their longtime friend, the St. Lunatics didn’t immediately take legal action, believing Nelly wouldn’t steal credit for their work. Now, they allege their involvement in tracks like “Steal the Show,” “Thicky Thick Girl,” “Batter Up,” and the iconic “Country Grammar” has been downplayed or erased entirely.
While the members were credited as co-writers on several Country Grammar tracks—most notably “Ride Wit Me,” which dominated the Hot 100 for 29 weeks—the suit claims Nelly and producer Jason Epperson took sole credit on major hits, leaving the Lunatics high and dry.
News of the new filing comes hot on the heels of Nelly’s early-August arrest for possession of ecstasy, and lack of insurance.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Nelly’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, argued that the rapper was “targeted by an overzealous, out-of-line officer” following a winning streak of multiple jackpots at Hollywood Casino.
“Instead of just supervising the transfer of Mr. Haynes’ winnings, this officer felt compelled to needlessly run a check for warrants,” Rosenblum said. “The officer informed Mr. Haynes a background check was mandated when a player won over a certain amount. Mr. Haynes knew this to be untrue as he had won several jackpots for similar or greater amounts.”
Rosenblum said the officer’s search of Nelly following the discovery of his warrant was conducted “without probable cause,” adding that the officer “handcuff(ed) Mr. Haynes behind his back and parade(d) him through the casino in front of other patrons.”
“I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere. And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct,” the statement concluded.