Following Young Thug’s recent release from prison, AEG is keen to reignite its legal battle with the rapper in relation to an allegedly breached 2017 contract and the $5 million advance that came with it.
A lawsuit filed by the live music company in 2020 claimed that Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, had broken the terms of a 2017 deal which saw AEG advance him $5 million in order to secure exclusive rights in relation to his live shows.
AEG alleged that Williams “immediately failed and refused to honour” that deal, proceeding to work with other promoters on shows and, once in breach, failing to return the advance.
That lawsuit was hindered somewhat when Williams was arrested in May 2022 and immediately denied bail. But last month he was freed from jail after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges, and being handed a sentence of time served with fifteen years probation.
In a new court filing, AEG says, “Proceedings in this action have been hampered for more than two years by reason of Mr Williams’ incarceration. So long as Mr Williams does not violate the terms of his probation, his criminal proceedings should no longer affect the parties’ ability” to complete the discovery phase of this litigation and “bring the case to trial”.
That said, while AEG is keen to see its lawsuit now proceed, it also requests that the court push back various deadlines. Partly to give Williams time to reacclimatise to “life outside of prison”, and partly so AEG’s lawyers can do more digging in relation to the rapper’s copyrights.
According to AEG, that 2017 advance was secured on Williams’ intellectual property, including his song copyrights. As a result, the 2020 lawsuit claimed that the company had the right to require Williams and his music publishing business partners to “assemble” those copyrights “and turn them over to AEG”.
Earlier this year, AEG told the court that it had recently learned that, in 2021, after it had filed its lawsuit, Williams did a $16 million deal with an unknown third party which saw him sell 400 song copyrights. That, it added, might require it to amend its lawsuit to include a claim that that sale was fraudulent, given AEG had a legal claim in relation to at least some of those copyrights at the time of the transaction.
In its new filing, AEG says that, after “extensive research” it remains “unclear which specific entities now own interests” in Williams’ song copyrights. However, it has subpoenaed no less than fifteen different entities seeking more information.
Once those entities have responded to those demands for information, AEG will have a better idea on its next steps, and whether it needs to amend this lawsuit or launch other litigation.
Pushing back previous deadlines in this lawsuit will allow AEG to complete that work. Meanwhile, AEG adds, the recently free Williams will be able to get himself sorted, reconnect with his lawyers and then “participate meaningfully in the action”.