Cordae is just days away from dropping his highly anticipated joint album with Anderson .Paak, but a recording agreement from eight years ago could throw a wrench into the entire release. The rapper is facing a $15 million lawsuit from MMMG Inc., a company claiming it still holds exclusive rights to his music under a contract signed in 2018. Now, the company wants a federal judge to intervene, potentially putting one of Cordae’s biggest collaborations in legal jeopardy before fans even get to hear it.
MMMG filed a 20-page complaint in New York federal court on October 15. The lawsuit names Cordae alongside EMPIRE, APESHIT, and Mass Appeal, accusing the rapper of violating his recording agreement and the companies of participating in the alleged breach.
The timing couldn’t be more inconvenient. Cordae and Anderson.Paak’s collaborative album, “Heavy Is The Crown,” is scheduled for release on October 23, leaving just one week between the lawsuit becoming public and the project’s planned arrival.
MMMG claims Cordae signed an exclusive recording agreement in April 2018 that continues to govern his music releases. Under the company’s interpretation of the contract, Cordae cannot distribute recordings covered by the agreement without obtaining its permission.
That includes his upcoming project with Anderson .Paak.
“Defendants never requested nor received a license from MMMG to release this album,” attorney Jeffrey M. Movit of Cohen & Gresser wrote in the complaint.
The company argues that moving forward with the album violates its contractual rights. However, those allegations have not been proven in court, and a judge has not been reported to have blocked the release.
The dispute also extends to Cordae’s September 16 single, “A Good Day,” and its accompanying music video. MMMG alleges both were released without proper authorization.
And the company isn’t only concerned about recorded music.
According to the complaint, Cordae has also failed to turn over money allegedly owed from touring, merchandise sales, and other commercial activities.
The filing alleges that “he refuses to pay MMMG its contractual share of the revenues.”
If the company successfully establishes those contractual rights, the financial implications could reach beyond the upcoming album.
A major part of the dispute involves what happened after Atlantic Records allegedly ended its distribution arrangement with MMMG on September 2, 2025.
According to the lawsuit, MMMG subsequently entered into a replacement distribution agreement with Stem and notified Cordae’s legal team two days later.
Why does that matter?
MMMG claims its original agreement allowed six months to secure a replacement distributor. The company argues that its deal with Stem fulfilled that requirement, meaning its exclusive recording rights remained intact.
Cordae’s attorneys, however, allegedly disputed whether the Stem arrangement satisfied the contract’s conditions.
That disagreement could prove crucial because the enforceability of the original agreement is central to MMMG’s case.
Cordae also established his Hi Level venture in 2021 while signed to Atlantic Records. Now, years after building his career beyond that early 2018 agreement, his previous business arrangements have become the focus of a federal lawsuit.
While the $15 million figure is grabbing headlines, MMMG’s demands extend further.
The company seeks at least $15 million from Cordae for alleged breach of contract and another $5 million from EMPIRE, APESHIT, and Mass Appeal for allegedly inducing that breach.
MMMG also demands at least $5 million related to “A Good Day,” or statutory copyright damages.
These are requested damages, not court-ordered payments, and the various claims do not necessarily represent a cumulative final award.
Still, the financial demands aren’t the only threat facing the project.
MMMG is requesting an injunction to prevent further distribution of recordings it claims to control. If granted and applied to “Heavy Is The Crown,” that order could interfere directly with the album’s release.
The company has also requested a jury trial.
Interestingly, Cordae isn’t the only major artist dealing with a dispute involving recording contracts.
R&B singer Summer Walker is also facing a separate legal battle involving her recording relationships, with Interscope Records reportedly pursuing more than $50 million in damages after she sought to terminate her agreement.
Walker has also challenged her contractual relationship with Love Renaissance Records, commonly known as LVRN, through separate legal claims.
While Cordae’s dispute concerns an alleged breach of an exclusive recording agreement, Walker’s situation involves different contractual questions. Neither artist’s case establishes the outcome of the other.
Still, the timing puts a spotlight on an issue that has followed artists for decades: how much control should companies retain over music careers years after the original agreements were signed?
For Cordae, the question is especially urgent because his next major release is already on the calendar.
Cordae and Anderson .Paak have already shown their chemistry on “RNP,” their collaboration from Cordae’s 2019 debut album, “The Lost Boy.”
Their upcoming project represents another chapter in that partnership, but its rollout now comes with a federal lawsuit attached.
According to the initial reporting, no defense response appeared in the five publicly available docket entries reviewed at the time. That does not mean the defendants have admitted wrongdoing.
For now, “Heavy Is The Crown” remains scheduled for October 23, and the court has not been reported to have granted MMMG’s requested injunction.
Whether the album arrives as planned may depend on what happens next in court.
Eight years after Cordae signed the agreement at the center of the dispute, a company claiming rights under that deal is now seeking millions of dollars and asking a judge to restrict the release of his music.
And with the album’s scheduled release only a week away, the legal battle is unfolding at a particularly critical moment for the rapper.
