Atlanta producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri is being sued by his former Dieniahmar Music LLC partner for $1 million for unpaid royalties.
Eddie Weathers and Dupri, whose real name is Jermaine Mauldin, launched the So So Def record label in 2005, and Weathers claim to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars since the label began. According to the lawsuit, the two partners agreed to split all earnings in half. Dupri partnered with EMI in a co-publishing deal, but allegedly didn’t give Weathers his share of royalties from the collaboration between 2006 and 2013. The court documents claim all EMI payments were paid directly to Dupri and his business manager. Dupri argues that “he was the sole owner in Dieniahmar when in fact he was not.”
Dupri ended up selling Dieniahmar in 2013. And while Edwards was meant to earn $238,000 from the purchase, he only received $10,000. Weathers is suing for his share of the company, totaling exactly $1 million.
Dupri is currently managing longtime friend Mariah Carey.