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Several members of the St. Lunatics have officially pulled out of the ongoing lawsuit against Nelly.
According to a report Billboard published Monday, November 25, a recent filing shows that three of the St. Louis-based rap group's five members had removed themselves from the lawsuit Ali Jones filed back in September. Murphy Lee (Tohri Harper), Kyjuan (Robert Kyjuan) and City Spud (Lavell Webb) were included in Jones' original complaint over unpaid royalties. However, the aforementioned artists almost immediately dissented and claimed they never agreed to join the lawsuit in the first place. Despite their defiance, Jones plans to move forward with the lawsuit.
“Our client, Mr. Jones, is deeply committed to protecting his creative contributions and ensuring rightful compensation for his work,” Jones' attorney Felder Gates said. “While others may have chosen to withdraw, his dedication to his artistic legacy and his rights as a creator remains unwavering.”
Jones previously accused Nelly of manipulating the group into thinking he would reward them with writing credits for their work on his 2000 studio album Country Grammar. He claimed Nelly “privately and publicly acknowledged that plaintiffs were the lyric writers” and “promised to ensure that plaintiffs received writing and publishing credit.” However, Jones alleged Nelly lied about paying and sued him for copyright infringement.
After Jones looped his old crew into his beef with Nelly, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, City Spud and Slo Down (who was not involved with the lawsuit at all) made sure to distance themselves from the legal drama by reuniting with the "Country Grammar" rapper onstage for a nostalgic performance at the 2024 American Music Awards with J-Kwon and Chingy. Nelly never directly responded to Jones' allegations, but he did share his thoughts about the situation.
"STL INVADES @amas …!!! An anyone who has a problem with that “Sue” me…!!! 🤷🏽♂️😂" Nelly wrote in his caption.