A new lawsuit alleges rapper Cordae is violating his exclusive record deal by teaming up with Anderson .Paak for their upcoming collaborative album Heavy is the Crown.
Cordae was sued Thursday (Oct. 15) by MMMG Inc., a Florida-based label that claims to have sole rights to the rapper’s recordings. MMMG says Cordae is flouting that contract by instead releasing Heavy is the Crown, out Oct. 23, via Anderson .Paak’s label APESHIT, Mass Appeal and EMPIRE.
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“MMMG has held up its end of the bargain, including by investing enormous amounts of time, money and other resources in Cordae’s career,” reads the legal complaint, obtained by Billboard. “Rather than live up to his commitments, Cordae prefers to put his head in the sand and pretend that the agreement does not even exist. This lawsuit is the direct result of Cordae’s mistreatment of MMMG.”
According to the lawsuit, MMMG signed Cordae to an exclusive record deal back in 2018 and released his first two albums, with distribution from Atlantic Records. The label claims it has 100% ownership of Cordae’s recorded copyrights and sole rights to his merch, touring and endorsements.
MMMG claims Cordae has already violated their record deal for years by selling merch on his own and not sharing profits with the label. Now, he’s allegedly “made matters far worse” by planning a new album release without MMMG’s permission or participation.
The label says it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cordae and his new label/distribution partners as soon as Heavy is the Crown was announced in August, but that Cordae “rebuffed” them and refused to halt the album. He and .Paak released the lead single “A Good Day” in September.
According to MMMG, Cordae’s lawyers have claimed their contract is no longer valid because the label switched distributors from Atlantic to Stem in 2025. Cordae’s team says Stem does not meet the distribution requirements under the record deal, though MMMG disputes this and says the argument is “utterly lacking in merit.”
Now, MMMG is suing Cordae for breach of contract and copyright infringement. The lawsuit, seeking total damages of $25 million, also levels copyright and tortious interference claims against APESHIT, Mass Appeal and EMPIRE.
“Before filing this lawsuit, MMMG gave Defendants ample time to correct their behavior and fully compensate MMMG for the harm that they caused,” reads the complaint. “They failed to do so. MMMG will now vindicate its rights, and recover its damages, in court.”
Reps for Cordae, APESHIT, Mass Appeal and EMPIRE did not immediately return requests for comment on Friday (Oct. 16). .Paak is not personally named in the lawsuit or accused of any wrongdoing.