Chris Brown Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties for 'Monalisa' and 'Sensational'
Chris Brown is facing legal action from songwriter Steve Chokpelle, who claims he is owed royalties for his contributions to the hit songs 'Monalisa' and 'Sensational.'
R&B superstar Chris Brown finds himself embroiled in a legal battle, accused of withholding royalties from songwriter Steve Chokpelle for two popular tracks.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday, Wednesday, February 4th, in a Manhattan federal court by Chokpelle himself.
Chokpelle alleges that in 2020, while in the company of Brown and Sean Kingston, he was commissioned by Brown to pen lyrics for a song titled ‘Monalisa.’ This track was officially released in June 2021.
He further claims that in 2021, he authored the lyrics for another song, ‘Sensational.’ After hearing a demo, Brown allegedly decided to record the song himself.
According to Rolling Stone, Chokpelle asserts that Brown proceeded to record, mix, and master his own version of ‘Sensational,’ releasing it on his 2023 album '11:11' as a collaboration with Lojay. Chokpelle claims he was never compensated for his contributions, despite the song allegedly generating over $1 million in revenue.
‘Sensational’ soared to the top of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and peaked at Number 71 on the Hot 100, with both Kingston and Lojay credited as co-writers.
The lawsuit accuses Brown of denying Chokpelle proper credit and withholding “his properly entitled compensation flowing from his role as author/owner of the lyrics.”
Chokpelle is seeking to be listed as an author and copyright owner for both tracks. He is also pursuing damages from Brown and Kingston, as well as Universal Music Publishing Group and Sony Music Entertainment.
The lawsuit, filed by Chokpelle’s lawyer Simon J. Rosen, states that “Defendants sustained a tremendous benefit, and shall continue to receive tremendous benefit, by earnings millions in revenues, acclaim, accolades, and goodwill, from the commercial exploitation of ‘Monalisa’ and ‘Sensational.’”
Rosen added that his client “is entitled to a full, discrete accounting of all revenues earned” by Brown “from the commercial exploitation of the subject songs”.
NME has reached out to Chris Brown's representative for comment.
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