Cordae's Old Label Says It Still Owns Him. The $25 Million Question Is a Letter He Says He Never Signed

A $25 million lawsuit against a rapper draws attention for the number, but the paperwork tells the story. Detailed public accounts of the complaint in MMMG Inc. v. Dunston show a case less about a hit single than about what happens to a 2018 rap deal when the major label underneath it walks away.

The basics first, from the docket as summarized by the legal news site Copyright Now. MMMG Inc. filed a three-count complaint on Oct. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, case No. 1:26-cv-09079. The defendants are Cordae Dunston, the rapper known as Cordae; EMPIRE Distribution; Apeshit, Inc.; and Mass Appeal Records. MMMG, a Delaware corporation based in Florida, is represented by Cohen & Gresser and wants a jury trial.

MMMG does business as Art@War, the company attorney and executive James McMillan founded in 2017, according to HITS Culture. That's the outfit that signed Cordae in April 2018, back when he was still billed as YBN Cordae, through a distribution arrangement with Atlantic Records.

The money breaks down three ways. Count I, against everyone, alleges willful copyright infringement over "A Good Day," the single released Sept. 16, and seeks no less than $5 million in actual damages or, alternatively, statutory damages. Count II, against Cordae alone, alleges breach of contract and seeks no less than $15 million. Count III alleges EMPIRE, Apeshit and Mass Appeal interfered with MMMG's contract and seeks no less than $5 million plus punitive damages. Anderson .Paak, Cordae's partner on the album Heavy Is the Crown, is not a defendant, though Apeshit is his company.

These are allegations. None of it has been proven, and no outlet reviewed by Boston Uncut has reported a public response from the defendants.

According to the complaint, the 2018 agreement made the masters Cordae recorded during the term works made for hire owned by MMMG, with a backup clause assigning the copyrights if a court decides they aren't. It also gave MMMG exclusive merchandising rights with a 50-50 split of net income, and 30 percent of net receipts from what the contract calls "Ancillary Endeavors," such as touring and endorsements. In the business, that's what people call a 360 deal. MMMG alleges Cordae has sold merch and toured for years without accounting to it.

MMMG says the deal is still alive. It alleges it exercised options for more contract periods, that Cordae delivered two albums, and that the parties are now in the second optional period.

Then Atlantic left. The complaint says Atlantic distributed both albums under a Sept. 25, 2018 agreement that Atlantic said ended Sept. 2, 2025. Two days later, MMMG says, it told Cordae's lawyers it had a new distribution deal with Stem. The contract allegedly gave MMMG up to six months to find a qualified replacement.

Cordae's side, as MMMG describes it, says the Stem deal doesn't count, in part because Cordae never signed an inducement letter. That's the separate document an artist signs promising a distributor he'll deliver records directly if the production company in the middle falls away. MMMG says its contract never required one, that Cordae didn't object during the six-month window, and that his challenge came only after MMMG's August 2026 letters. It calls the challenge bad faith and argues waiver and estoppel. HITS Culture put it plainly: whether the 2018 paper required that letter is the question a judge has to answer from the contract's own language.

In this writer's opinion, that question is the whole case. If the inducement-letter argument wins, MMMG's claim to everything Cordae recorded after Atlantic left gets very shaky. If it loses, the copyright count could grow; MMMG says it will add claims for more tracks from the album, and federal law allows up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement.

The timeline is what makes this a real fight and not just a lawyer letter. MMMG alleges the album was announced Aug. 19 with an Oct. 23 release date, and that it sent a cease-and-desist to EMPIRE and Mass Appeal on Aug. 20 plus a notice of breach to Cordae's lawyers. The single came out anyway. The U.S. Copyright Office catalog lists Registration No. SR0001078770 for the sound recording "A Good Day," registered Sept. 16, 2026, with MMMG Inc. as author and claimant, according to Copyright Now.

Digital Music News and HITS Culture both reported that MMMG asked for an injunction to block the album. As of Oct. 19, HITS Culture reported no ruling on that request. Boston Uncut found no report of a ruling since. Nobody has publicly answered for Cordae, .Paak, EMPIRE or Mass Appeal.

The case matters beyond one album. The 360 deals and production deals of the late 2010s were often signed by teenagers who were about to blow up, and when the major label in the middle leaves, everybody discovers what the fine print actually says. Cordae's case is a public, on-the-record example of that moment.

What we still don't know: whether a judge ruled on the injunction, what Cordae's lawyers will argue in their answer, and what the 2018 contract says about distributors in full, since the public summaries quote only parts of it.