A Houston-based music producer is accusing prominent entertainment company Roc Nation of using copyrighted beats without authorization in creating hit songs for artists A$AP Ferg and GloRilla.
The allegations revolve around two specific tracks, A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane” and GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”
In 2015, Kerry D. Brown, the managing member of Krushial K. Productions, met Lenny Santiago, a Vice-President of Roc Nation, at The Dealmakers Conference held at The Hotel Derek in Houston, Texas.
Brown provided Santiago with samples of his instrumentals, hoping to forge a collaboration for future projects.
Brown maintains that he never relinquished or transferred the rights to his copyrighted instrumentals.
However, he was shocked to discover that two of his registered works, “You Don’t Know Nothing About Me” and “AUDIOBOX Instrumentals,” were allegedly used in A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane” and GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” without his permission.
“Plain Jane” by A$AP Ferg, released in 2017, became a massive hit, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and eventually achieving multi-platinum certification.
On the other hand, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” by Hitkidd & GloRilla, released in 2022, garnered significant attention, achieving gold certification status.
According to Brown, neither Roc Nation nor any other involved parties obtained a Notice of Intent to Use or paid royalties to Krushial K. Productions for using the copyrighted material in either song.
The only Notice of Intent to Use received by Brown came from Spotify, a popular music streaming platform.
Both “Plain Jane” and “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” have gained widespread recognition and have even gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok.
Despite the commercial success of these tracks, Brown and Krushial K. Productions claim they have not received any royalties for the unauthorized use of their beats in “Plain Jane” and “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”
Brown and Krushial K. would not be the only ones making nothing from “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”
Last year, HitKidd publicly confronted GloRilla on Twitter, accusing the Memphis rapper and her team of attempting to unjustly claim ownership of their viral sensation following her signing with Yo Gotti’s CMG Records in July 2022.
She fired back, claiming she hasn’t made any royalties from “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and that HitKidd sold away his rights to the hit song for $50,000 the first week the hit song was released.
Brown and Krushial K. are suing for copyright infringement, unfair competition, and attorney fees.