Chris Reaches 'Settlement in Principle' Over Lawsuit From Lyricist

Chris Brown has settled a new lawsuit. 

According to a court filing (as per Rolling Stone), the controversial R&B singer has reached a “settlement in principle” with a lyricist who claimed he was cut out of millions in revenues from Brown's songs “Sensational” and “Monalisa”.

The plaintiff, identified as Steve Chokpelle, said the agreement would resolve all of his claims against Brown and Universal Music Group, effectively removing them from the royalties lawsuit. 

“The parties have reached a settlement in principle that will resolve plaintiff’s claims against defendants, as well as codefendant Chris Brown, in their entirety,” the filing read. “The settlement will bring an end to this matter as it pertains to defendants and Brown.”

Chokpelle first filed in February, claiming he was at Brown's home in Los Angeles with Sean Kingston in 2020 when Brown allegedly asked him to pen lyrics for an upcoming song, “Monalisa”. 

A “Monalisa” remix by Nigerian musicians Lojay and Sarz, featuring Brown, would go on to become a No. 8 hit on the charts. 

In his filing, Chokpelle alleged he also wrote the lyrics for the follow-up song, “Sensational”, further claiming that after Brown heard a demo, he decided to record the song himself. 

According to Chokpelle, Brown then later mixed and mastered his own version, also featuring Lojay, which featured on Brown's 2023 album 11:11 and made the charts. Chokpelle's lawsuit claimed “Sensational” generated over $1 million in revenue. 

Chokpelle claimed Brown stopped him from getting proper credit for the songs and “his properly entitled compensation flowing from his role as author/owner of the lyrics.” 

He further requested a court order declaring him an author and copyright owner of the two songs and sought damages from, among others, Brown, Kingston, and Universal Music.

“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 lawsuit stated. It claimed Brown and the other defendants were “unjustly enriched” while Chokpelle received “no revenues whatsoever.”

In March, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed, with Brown and his lawyers claiming that “Monalisa” was released and distributed by third parties. They added that the statute of limitations for copyright ownership claims is three years, so the filing was too late. The judge hadn't yet ruled on the motion when the notice of settlement was filed this week.

The notice made clear that Chokpelle is still pursuing his related claims against Kingston, who has not yet answered the complaint. Kingston is currently in prison after he was convicted of defrauding multiple vendors out of more than $1 million in luxury items.