Chris Brown Faces Lawsuit Over Unpaid Royalties for 'Sensational' and 'Monalisa'
Songwriter Steve Chokpelle, known as Muse, is suing Chris Brown, alleging he hasn't received royalties for co-writing the hits 'Sensational' and 'Monalisa'.
Chris Brown is embroiled in a legal battle with songwriter Steve Chokpelle, who claims he co-authored two of the R&B star's successful tracks but has yet to receive any royalties. Chokpelle, also known as Muse, filed a federal court complaint on Wednesday, February 4th, alleging his contribution to "Sensational" and "Monalisa" has gone uncompensated.
Chokpelle asserts he penned the lyrics for “Sensational,” a track from Brown's 2023 album 11:11. The song notably topped Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also claims authorship of the lyrics for the 2022 track “Monalisa,” a collaboration between Brown, Lojay, and Sarz, which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs and No. 38 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart.
According to the lawsuit, Chokpelle wrote the “Monalisa” lyrics during a 2020 session at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California, alongside Sean Kingston. Despite the song's success, Chokpelle alleges he has not been credited or compensated. He further claims to have written the lyrics for “Sensational” in 2023 with producer Onyekachi Emenalo (Krazytunez), later sharing it with Brown. While credited as a composer, he alleges exclusion from the song's copyright registration and subsequent lack of payment.
The lawsuit states, “Defendants sustained a tremendous benefit, and shall continue to receive tremendous benefit, by [earning] millions in revenues, acclaim, accolades and goodwill from the commercial exploitation of ‘Monalisa’ and ‘Sensational,’” The suit continues, “As a result of defendants’ failure to acknowledge plaintiff’s authorship and copyright ownership interests, and by their failure to compensate plaintiff, defendants have been unjustly enriched.”
Chokpelle's lawsuit seeks a court order declaring him a co-author and co-copyright owner of both “Monalisa” and “Sensational.” He is also seeking at least $1 million in damages for unjust enrichment and fraud against Brown, Kingston, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).
Reps for Brown, Sony, and UMPG have yet to comment. Kingston, currently serving a federal prison sentence for fraud, could not be reached for comment.
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