Rapper Lil Durk Hit With $12 Million Lawsuit For Reportedly Selling Rights To The Same Song Twice

A New York-based fintech startup, Exceed Talent Capital, has sued Lil Durk for $12 million accusing the Chicago rapper, his business manager, and the label of “manifest fraud”.

The case is filed over a deal to sell the rights to Lil Durk’s track “Bedtime”. The suit claims that Durk signed deals with two different entities for the same song's rights.

Who is Lil Durk?

Durk Derrick Banks, professionally known as Lil Durk, is a rapper and singer. Durk gained a cult following with the release of his mixtape series, “Signed to the Streets”, which led to Def Jam Recordings signing him. More recently, Durk’s track “All My Life” enjoyed success on the charts. Reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100."

However, throughout his career, he has been a subject of litigation for his behind-the-scenes maneuvers, and his recent alleged fraudulent actions surrounding the song rights of "Bedtime" have jeopardized the financial standing of the firm, Exceed Talent Capital.

What is Lil Durk Accused of?

In a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Exceed Talent Capital accused Durk, his business manager Andrew Bonsu, and his label OTF of “Manifest Fraud” of selling the rights of a song to different entities. Exceed has accused Durk of selling the rights to his song “Bedtime” to the firm even though he already had an exclusive contract with Sony Music Entertainment’s Alamo Records.

Exceed and Durk announced their partnership last fall, in which Exceed paid the artist for the exclusive rights to transform his track "Bedtime" into a fractional investment opportunity, Hot New Hip Hop reported. They offered fans a “Trenches All-Access Pass,” a sort of NFT that provided fans exclusive access to a private Grand Theft Auto roleplay server custom-built by Lil Durk and his OTF Gaming company. The fans were also offered immediate lifetime access, and dibs on shares from proceeds of the song “Bedtime” as well.

However, the startup claimed that it was later blindsided when it discovered that the rapper had an exclusive deal with Alamo Records. This implied that the assertions and guarantees made in the contract with Exceed were deliberately false.

The revelation came to light when Exceed received a cease-and-desist letter from Alamo Records stating that Durk was under an exclusive recording agreement with the firm and he had no authority to sell his recording royalties to any other entity.

Exceed then demanded Durk to refund the $450,000 that it had already paid to the artist. However, the rapper allegedly ignored these pleas, as per the suit. Thus, the suit filed by Exceed claims that Durk committed fraud by entering an agreement with them, and the fallout from the legal affair with Alamo Records proved costly for the firm.

What is Exceed Talent Capital seeking?

The lawsuit filed by the fintech startup claims that it had to cancel the sale of its scheme after already investing "significant time, effort, and financial resources." They further claimed that they also had to go through the trouble of securing approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ultimately, the firm estimated that the financial implications from the alleged fraud exceed a staggering $12 million. It stated that it has left the firm in a precarious financial position.

“Exceed was compelled … to return the funds that had been invested by third parties in the Offering, further significantly damaging Exceed’s reputation and relationships with its partners and investors,” the company wrote, as per a Billboard report.

Exceed has asked to court to award compensatory damages as well as punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and “costs incurred as a result of Durk’s misconduct.