This Wednesday, an elite lineup of athletes and the brightest Hollywood stars will join ESPN for The 2026 ESPYS Presented by Capital One to commemorate the past year in sports. Hosted by Marcello Hernández, The 2026 ESPYS will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on ABC.

The star-studded ceremony will celebrate major sports achievements, revisit unforgettable moments, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars. The night will also feature special musical performances from hip-hop royalty De La Soul, critically acclaimed rapper Ghostface Killah, the legendary Slick Rick, and global baseball phenomenon the Savannah Bananas.

Stars and athletes scheduled to present this year include: Simone Biles (Olympic Gold Medalist, Gymnast), Allyson Felix (Olympic Gold Medalist, Track & Field), Eileen Gu (Olympic Gold Medalist, Freestyle Skiing), Tiffany Haddish (Actress & Comedian), Kevin Hart (Cast of 72 Hours), DJ Khaled (Grammy-winning Musician), Chloe Kim (Olympic Gold Medalist, Snowboarding), Billie Jean King (Tennis Legend), Pat McAfee (Host of The Pat McAfee Show & ESPN Analyst), Ilona Maher (Olympic Rugby Player), French Montana (Multi-Platinum Artist), Tracy Morgan (Actor & Comedian), Kevin Negandhi (ESPN Personality), Jake Paul (Boxer & Creator), Oz Pearlman (Mentalist), Robin Roberts (Good Morning America Co-Anchor), Jayson Tatum (NBA Champion, Boston Celtics), Mike Tyson (Boxing Legend & Actor), and Lindsey Vonn (Olympic Gold Medalist, Alpine Skiing), along with a special appearance by actor and comedian Will Ferrell.

In addition, top athletes and celebrities scheduled to attend include: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Lauren Betts (Washington Mystics & UCLA Women’s Basketball), Jalen Brunson (NBA Champion, New York Knicks), Ciara (Singer & Songwriter), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Terence Crawford (Boxer), Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets), Crystal Dunn (USWNT Legend), Charlotte Flair (WWE Superstar), Myles Garrett (Los Angeles Rams), Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills), Dwight Howard (Basketball Hall of Famer), Jack Hughes (Olympic Gold Medalist, New Jersey Devils & US Men’s Hockey Team), Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR Legend), Hilary Knight (Olympic Gold Medalist, PWHL Detroit & US Women’s Hockey Team), Alysa Liu (Olympic Gold Medalist, Figure Skater), Oksana Masters (Paralympic Gold Medalist), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana Football & Las Vegas Raiders), Shedeur Sanders (Cleveland Browns), Mikaela Shiffrin (Olympic Gold Medalist, Alpine Skiing), Matthew Tkachuk (Olympic Gold Medalist, Florida Panthers & US Men’s Hockey Team), Karl-Anthony Towns (NBA Champion, New York Knicks), Russell Wilson (Former NFL Player), members of the Savannah Bananas, and more.

As previously announced by ESPN, trailblazing former NBA player Jason Collins will be posthumously honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage; baseball legend Jim Abbott will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance; and Scott Ruskan will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Additionally, the Sports Humanitarian Awards will feature honorees as part of this year’s show, including the recipients of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award and the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award.

The ESPYS Red Carpet Show presented by TJ Maxx, hosted by Samantha Rivera, Harry Lyles Jr., Monica McNutt, and Kimberley Martin, will stream live at 7 p.m. ET. Also from the Red Carpet, Kevin Negandhi and Christine Williamson will host SportsCenter live at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPYS Preview Show Presented by Capital One live at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Good Morning America’s Will Reeve will contribute as a reporter to all ESPN pre-show programming.

The post De La Soul, Ghostface Killah & Slick Rick to Perform at The 2026 ESPYS. first appeared on Rap Industry: New Hip Hop, Rap Videos, Music, News, & more..

By: Todd “DG” Davis
Rapindustry.com

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There are artists whose names immediately spark nostalgia, and then there are artists whose voices become part of the soundtrack without always receiving the credit they deserve.
Leschea belongs in the second category.

Raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant at a time when Brooklyn was helping redefine the sound of hip-hop, she arrived with something different. She wasn’t trying to out-rap the rappers or out-sing the traditional R&B singers. Instead, she found the space between them—a place where soulful melodies could ride rugged drums without sacrificing authenticity.

Long before blending genres became the norm, Leschea was already proving there was room for singers inside hip-hop’s DNA.

Her work alongside Masta Ace Incorporated introduced listeners to a voice that felt equally at home over boom-bap as it did over smooth grooves. Then came Rhythm & Beats, an album that has quietly grown into one of those records listeners continue to rediscover, appreciating today what some may have overlooked when it first arrived.

Outside the recording booth, Leschea continued serving the culture through The Leschea Show, where she traded the microphone for the interviewer’s chair and spent nearly a decade documenting the stories of artists whose contributions deserved to be remembered beyond their biggest records.

Today, as she prepares new music while reflecting on a career that has touched multiple generations, Leschea remains exactly what she’s always been: authentic, grounded, and unmistakably Brooklyn.
We caught up with her to talk about the borough that raised her, the records that still resonate, building a life with Masta Ace, preserving hip-hop’s history, and why staying true to yourself never goes out of style.

Brooklyn has always produced people with a certain toughness and pride. Looking back, what are the biggest life lessons Bed-Stuy gave you that continue to guide you both personally and professionally?

Leschea: Brooklyn definitely taught me how to be resilient and confident because it wasn’t always considered the easiest place to grow up. There were always going to be people who tried you, tested you, or assumed you were a pushover. I learned early on that I wasn’t.

That absolutely shaped the woman I am today. I’m confident, I’m resilient, and I have dreams that I still want to pursue. Those are the same values I try to instill in my daughter. Brooklyn definitely made me who I am.

“Fulton St.” has become much more than a fan favorite—it captures a feeling of home. When that record comes on today, where does your mind immediately take you?

Leschea: I don’t just hear the song. “Fulton St.” comes with a whole movement. It takes me back to growing up on Putnam Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It reminds me of going downtown to shop for the latest gear, catching movies, going to A&S, Albee Square Mall, and just experiencing Brooklyn.

That song gives me a real sense of home.

Time has given Rhythm & Beats a whole new appreciation. Revisiting that project now, what do you recognize about the artist—and the person—you were becoming during that chapter?

Leschea: When Rhythm & Beats came out, I was definitely in my tomboy era—and honestly, I still think there’s a little tomboy in me today.

At that time, I wanted to make the kind of music I wasn’t hearing from other people. I wanted to sing over straight hip-hop tracks. Some people might say it had been done before, but not quite the way I approached it.

That project helped shape me into the artist and woman I am today.

Your music always carried equal parts soul and hip-hop. Did you consciously set out to bridge those worlds, or was that simply the most honest expression of who you were?

Leschea: It was always natural for me. I wanted to make music that felt authentic to who I was instead of chasing what everyone else was doing. Hip-hop was always part of my DNA, and I wanted people to hear that through my singing.

There was an undeniable chemistry within Masta Ace Incorporated. What made that creative environment so inspiring, and why do you think those songs continue connecting with listeners decades later?

Leschea: Those records were just dope—plain and simple. Everybody brought exactly what they needed to bring to Masta Ace Incorporated.

For me personally, it gave me the freedom to be creative and let those creative juices flow. That experience helped pave the way for everything I eventually did on Rhythm & Beats.

Sharing both life and music with Masta Ace has created one of hip-hop’s most enduring partnerships. What’s helped the two of you continue growing together while still encouraging each other’s individual creativity?

Leschea: I’d say the biggest lesson has been maintaining mutual respect. We have a genuine friendship, great chemistry—both musically and personally—and, of course, love for one another.

Those things have always been the foundation.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Disposable Arts across Europe showed just how far this music has traveled. What emotions came with experiencing that kind of appreciation so many years later?

Leschea: Touring Europe was incredible. Being able to share the stage with my husband was special because that’s not something people usually get to see.

It was also amazing being introduced to so many of his fans overseas. They had heard me on Disposable Arts and other projects, but seeing me perform live was different.

The love I received was overwhelming, and it definitely inspired me creatively. I’m working on new music now, and I’m especially excited for the fans in Europe to hear it.

Women have always played an essential role in hip-hop’s evolution, yet many of those stories remain underrepresented. What part of that history deserves a closer look today?

Leschea: I hope people recognize that hip-hop has always been more than rap lyrics, break-dancing, and graffiti. There’s always been a place for singers, too.

I’ve always wanted people to view me as a true hip-hop singer—not someone outside the culture, but someone who added another dimension to it.

Artists often don’t realize how deeply their music becomes woven into people’s lives. Has there been a fan interaction that reminded you just how meaningful your songs have become?

Leschea: People tell me all the time how much “Fulton St.” means to them. I didn’t realize until much later that almost every city has a Fulton Street, so people connected with it in ways I never expected.

I’ve also heard from fans about songs like “Schea’s World” and “Hip Hop.” Those records really meant something to people, and hearing their stories is always special.

After years of interviewing artists on The Leschea Show, you’ve heard countless life stories beyond the music. How has sitting on the other side of the conversation changed your own perspective?

Leschea: Hosting The Leschea Show for nearly a decade was one of the biggest blessings of my career.

I intentionally avoided asking the usual questions because I wanted to know who people were beyond their careers. I wanted to hear about their childhoods, their struggles, and their personal journeys.

What I discovered was that even the biggest legends are just people navigating life like the rest of us. Many of those guests have become like family over the years, and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to tell their stories.

You’re entering another exciting creative chapter. As you prepare to share new music, what inspires you today, and how has experience influenced what listeners will hear this time around?

Leschea: I’m excited that people are excited about my new project.

From my very first single almost 30 years ago, I’ve always tried to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing while staying true to myself.

I think of hip-hop as soul food, and I like to think of myself as the seasoning—the Lawry’s® seasoning—that gives it a unique flavor. That’s still my goal today: to bring something authentic and distinctive to every project I’m part of.

When people reflect on your contribution to hip-hop years from now, beyond the records themselves, what do you hope they’ll remember most about what Leschea brought to the culture?

Leschea: I hope people say I gave them my authentic self.

I’ve always tried to sing about relatable topics while putting my own soulful twist on them. More than anything, I wanted to go left when everyone else went right.

I wanted people to understand that hip-hop is bigger than what most people think it is. It has room for singers, storytellers, and different voices.

If that’s my contribution—to be remembered as a true, authentic hip-hop singer who stayed true to herself—then I’d be proud of that.

The post More Than a Melody: Leschea’s Place in Hip-Hop History (Interview). first appeared on Rap Industry: New Hip Hop, Rap Videos, Music, News, & more..

Groundwaves, the hip-hop community movement founded by MURS in 2018, culminates a year of open mics, mentorship and community building in Chicago with the first annual GoodWaves Music Festival & Conference.

Presented by MURS 3:16 & Groundwaves in association with Good Chaos, GoodWaves takes place on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 at Venue Six10, and Sunday, August 30, 2026, at The Salt Shed Fairgrounds. The free, all-ages event brings together acclaimed hip-hop artists, rising independent talent, and Chicago’s creative community for three days of performances, networking, education, and cultural celebration.

The festival on August 30th features performances by Killer Mike, Snow Tha Product, DJ Premier, Rapsody, Brother Ali, Dee-1, Navy Blue, Coyote x Statik Selektah, Propaganda, Lily Fangz, Recoechi, Pinqy Ring, Urbanized Music, June, Bella BAHHS, M.E.R.C., STR8 BarZzz, Mastermine, DA’LIGHTBEAM, and TMC Records, with hosting duties by Slot-A, B4Lasers, Coolout Chris, and Binkey.

Tickets are free and are required for entry (first come first served).

The conference takes place on August 28th and 29th, and will feature 1 on 1 conversations live on stage with Killer Mike, Snow Tha Product, DJ Premier, Vic Mensa, Styles P, Rapsody, Dee-1, April Walker, Estevan Oriol, and The Company Man, and writing and performance workshops with Brother Ali and Phenom.

Since its launch, Groundwaves has become known for creating authentic spaces where artists at every stage of their careers can perform, collaborate, receive mentorship, and build lasting connections within the hip-hop community. Previous Groundwaves seasons have taken place in Fort Collins, Denver, Tulsa, and Northwest Arkansas, with Chicago representing the movement’s largest expansion to date.

“I’m so happy to partner with Good Chaos to put together this free multi-day event in Chicago, a legendary city for festivals and free public programming. GoodWaves is what I always dreamed my Paid Dues festival would evolve into. The GoodWaves conference gives our Groundwaves community an opportunity to hear from and build with hip hop legends – the GoodWaves festival platforms some of the best performers in the nation alongside the a-list of Chicago talent.” — MURS 3:16, Founder of Groundwaves

The Chicago debut is presented in partnership with Good Chaos, a creative studio committed to investing in artists, communities, and cultural movements that create lasting creative and economic impact. Together, Groundwaves and Good Chaos aim to establish Chicago as a flagship destination for artist discovery, collaboration, and community through the annual GoodWaves Music Festival & Conference.

Admission is free to the public, with advance registration required.

Event Details

GoodWaves Music Festival
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2026
Venue: The Salt Shed Fairgrounds, Chicago, IL
Admission: Free and All Ages (registration required)

GoodWaves Music Conference
Date: Friday, August 28th and Saturday, August 29th, 2026
Venue: Venue Six10, Chicago, IL
Admission: Free with limited capacity

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Directed by Mo Stafford
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Directed By: Sanders Prduxn
Memphis Shots By: Trackman
Dancers / Jookers: Kyng Julien & Rarri Richhie

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By: David “G” Kreluer
Hip-Hop Business • Legal, financial, and strategic intelligence for music industry professionals.

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Two publicly disclosed transactions closed within five months of each other this year reveal how differently hip-hop’s rights are now changing hands — one negotiated directly with a living, active artist, the other executed as a secondhand bulk transfer that may never have touched the original creator’s desk a second time. Reservoir Media’s acquisition of T.I.’s publishing catalog and Sony Music Publishing’s $3.5–4 billion purchase of Recognition Music Group are not variations on the same deal. They are two competing models for how rap IP gets owned in this cycle, and operators who treat them as interchangeable will misprice their own catalogs.

What the record shows

Reservoir Media and Atlanta rapper T.I., legal name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., formally disclosed a publishing partnership on July 9, 2026. The agreement covers the bulk of T.I.’s catalog, including material released between 2001’s I’m Serious and 2020’s The L.I.B.R.A. Although On T.I.’s new album, Kill the King, released the month prior, there are reporting conflicts: Some reported the album is excluded from the publishing pact, while others citing Reservoir’s own statements, describing the deal as covering T.I.’s “future works” and explicitly name Kill the King as part of the agreement. Neither Reservoir nor T.I. has publicly clarified the discrepancy.

What is confirmed across all sources: Reservoir’s interest in T.I.’s recorded masters is limited to his non-Atlantic output — 2001’s I’m Serious, 2014’s Paperwork, 2018’s Dime Trap and assorted non-album singles — because T.I.’s Atlantic-era masters, spanning 2003’s Trap Muzik through 2012’s Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head, are the subject of an active buyback lawsuit against Cinq/GoDigital. The publishing side of the deal also picks up T.I.’s songwriting and feature credits on tracks by B.o.B, A$AP Rocky, Slim Thug, Trey Songz, Dave East, Sean Kingston and Big K.R.I.T. Reservoir declined to disclose the transaction’s price.

This is not Reservoir’s only 2026 hip-hop move on the books. The company’s fiscal 2026 annual report, filed with the SEC, discloses that Reservoir acquired master catalog rights for artists including A-Trak and Danny Brown through independent label Fool’s Gold Records, alongside an ongoing marketing and distribution partnership, and extended its publishing agreement with multi-platinum Indian hip-hop artist DIVINE. Reservoir reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $175.7 million, up 11% year-over-year, and said it deployed approximately $120 million across acquisitions and advances during the year.

The larger structural story runs through a different company entirely. On May 11, 2026, Sony Music Publishing confirmed an agreement to acquire Blackstone-owned Recognition Music Group’s complete catalog of more than 45,000 songs, executed in partnership with the investment venture Sony Music Group launched with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, with Sony Bank also participating. Financial terms were not officially disclosed; Bloomberg reported the deal’s value at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. That portfolio’s hip-hop lineage traces to a 2020 transaction: on August 24, 2020, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited acquired a 50% stake in the copyright and writer’s share of Wu-Tang Clan leader and producer RZA, a worldwide deal covering 814 songs, including nearly the entire Wu-Tang Clan catalog as well as songs by Kanye West, The Notorious B.I.G., The Game and Earl Sweatshirt. Blackstone acquired Hipgnosis Songs Fund from its public investors for $1.58 billion in July 2024 and folded it into Recognition Music Group in 2025.

What this actually means

The original coverage of both deals treated them as another entry on the catalog-sales ticker. That framing misses the operative distinction: Reservoir is buying rights from the person who created them, on terms that person is negotiating in 2026. Sony is buying an entire fund’s assets in bulk from a private equity owner — and because RZA’s 2020 agreement was signed specifically with “Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited,” the entity name Blackstone later acquired and folded into Recognition, it’s a reasonable inference — though not one any party has itemized publicly — that RZA’s stake is among the 45,000 songs now under Sony’s ownership.

For entertainment attorneys, the practical takeaway is that an artist’s contractual leverage is typically fixed at the moment of first sale. In fund-based acquisition structures generally, a fund’s administration rights, reversion triggers and consent requirements are set in the original agreement and travel with the asset through subsequent sales — the buyer at each step inherits what was negotiated at the first step, not a fresh negotiation with the artist. Whether RZA’s specific 2020 agreement contained standard fund-transfer language, and whether any consent right was triggered by the 2024 Blackstone sale or the 2026 Sony sale, has not been publicly disclosed by any party to either transaction.

For managers, the T.I. deal is the more instructive template precisely because of what it excludes on the masters side. Reservoir built the transaction around the boundary of active litigation, buying the non-Atlantic recordings and (per most reporting) the publishing catalog while leaving the disputed Atlantic masters out entirely. That is a signal to any manager representing an artist with contested rights: acquirers are not waiting for litigation to resolve before transacting — they are structuring deals around it.

For independent label operators, the Fool’s Gold Records line in Reservoir’s annual report matters more than its size suggests. A-Trak and Danny Brown’s masters moving to a public company’s balance sheet, alongside a continuing marketing and distribution partnership, is a working model for how a boutique hip-hop label monetizes a catalog without disappearing as an operating brand.

The legal or financial mechanics

The T.I. deal’s mechanics turn on rights bifurcation under active dispute. Reservoir’s agreement covers the publishing side of T.I.’s catalog broadly, but on the recorded-masters side, it draws a hard line at the Atlantic-era recordings currently in litigation. This is a standard risk-allocation technique: a buyer can acquire clean IP now while leaving contested IP for resolution later, without either side’s deal contingent on the other’s outcome. The unresolved conflict over whether Kill the King itself is included is itself instructive — it shows that even in deals both parties have publicly announced, the precise scope of what changed hands is not always cleanly disclosed, which is exactly the kind of ambiguity an attorney drafting or reviewing a similar agreement needs to close in writing rather than leave to press statements.

The Sony/GIC transaction’s mechanics are a different animal entirely: a sovereign-wealth-backed joint venture acquiring an entire private equity fund’s holdings in one transaction, rather than negotiating catalog-by-catalog. This structure lets a major label acquire a sprawling portfolio while sharing the capital outlay with an outside financial partner rather than carrying the full purchase price on its own balance sheet — a financing model that has become increasingly common in the highest tier of catalog M&A. The legal consequence for any songwriter or estate whose catalog sits inside a fund vehicle: whatever consent and notification rights exist in the original sale agreement — not the artist’s original relationship with the first buyer — govern what happens when that fund itself is later sold to someone else.

What independent operators need to know

First, if you are negotiating a catalog sale in 2026, treat the buyer’s fund structure and stated resale intentions as material deal terms, not boilerplate. Ask directly whether the acquiring entity is a vehicle likely to be sold or merged, and negotiate change-of-control notification rights now, while you have leverage — not after the fund has already changed hands.

Second, if you represent an artist with masters or publishing tied up in litigation, the T.I./Reservoir structure shows buyers will transact around a carve-out rather than wait — but get the exact scope of what’s included and excluded documented in writing you control, since even the parties’ own public statements about the T.I. deal don’t agree on whether it covers the artist’s newest album.

Third, watch fund-level consolidation, not just artist-level headlines, for signal on where hip-hop catalogs are landing. Trace the entity names in your clients’ original sale agreements the same way you’d track a co-publisher’s financial health — a fund name that sounds permanent in year one may be a line item in a much larger sale by year six.

THE BOTTOM LINE

For entertainment attorneys: Build explicit change-of-control and resale-notification clauses into every catalog sale you negotiate now, and don’t rely on public deal announcements to establish scope — the T.I./Reservoir deal shows even the parties’ own statements to the trade press can conflict on what’s actually included.

For music managers: When representing an artist with contested masters, don’t wait for litigation to resolve before shopping the clean side of the catalog — Reservoir’s T.I. deal shows buyers will structure around active disputes rather than pause for them.

For independent label operators: A continuing marketing and distribution partnership, as Reservoir structured with Fool’s Gold Records, is a viable way to monetize catalog value while retaining your label’s operating identity — model your next catalog conversation on that structure rather than a straight buyout.

The post Hip-Hop Catalog Deals in 2026: Who Really Owns Rap’s Rights Now? first appeared on Rap Industry: New Hip Hop, Rap Videos, Music, News, & more..

By: David “G” Kreluer
Hip-Hop Business • Legal, financial, and strategic intelligence for music industry professionals.

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[Note: rapindustry.com posted breaking coverage of this filing on July 7. This piece skips the recap and goes straight to the business mechanics — the audit trigger, the accounting maneuver being alleged, and the statute-of-limitations problem the plaintiffs have to solve to make a 32-year-old relationship actionable today.]

A royalty audit conducted last year has produced an $18 million breach-of-contract claim against one of the three major labels, built almost entirely on the argument that a record company concealed money inside its own books for more than two decades.

What the record shows

Jermaine Dupri, So So Def Recordings, and So So Def Productions filed a breach-of-contract complaint against Sony Music Entertainment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 7, 2026. The complaint seeks a minimum of $18 million, including more than $10 million in interest, plus attorneys’ fees, and demands a jury trial.

The relationship at issue spans 32 years and, according to the complaint, at least seven separate contracts between Dupri’s entities and various Sony-affiliated companies. So So Def began in 1993 as a joint venture between Dupri and both Columbia Records and Sony directly — Columbia being a Sony-owned label in its own right. That joint venture ended in 2002, after which Dupri’s catalog and production deals continued moving through Sony imprints before eventually distributing through other majors.

The complaint alleges royalty shortfalls tied to Kris Kross’ Totally Krossed Out and Da Bomb, Xscape’s Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha, Da Brat’s Funkdafied, and Jagged Edge’s The Jagged Era, along with production and songwriting royalties tied to Usher, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, J-Kwon, and Bone Crusher. Specific figures cited include roughly $2.2 million in unreported producer and override royalties on the two Kris Kross albums, and a $1.5 million unrecouped balance still carried against Xscape’s platinum-certified debut. The suit alleges Sony placed Kris Kross royalties into a separate accounting system that plaintiffs did not know existed until 2023, and that amended statements issued for Jagged Edge corrected figures only as far back as 2007, leaving earlier periods unaddressed. The complaint states the underlying catalog and production work generated more than $200 million in gross revenue for Sony over the life of the relationship.

The trigger for the filing was a 2025 desk audit conducted by the accounting firm Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman. Sony had not filed a public response to the complaint as of this writing.

What this actually means

The original coverage treated this as a royalty dispute. Here’s a different way to read it: it’s a test of how far a “concealment” narrative can stretch a contract claim past the point most attorneys would assume it was dead — and that’s worth flagging as analysis, not as something the complaint itself explicitly argues.

New York’s statute of limitations for breach of contract is six years. Several of the royalty streams at issue — Kris Kross’ 1993 and 1996 albums, Xscape’s 1993 debut, Da Brat’s 1994 debut — sit decades outside that window on their face. New York law does allow a defendant’s active concealment of a breach to toll the limitations clock until a plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the wrong. The complaint doesn’t state that it’s relying on this doctrine — none of the reporting quotes that argument directly — but the emphasis on concealment (the separate accounting system, the statements corrected only back to 2007) is the kind of factual record a plaintiff would need to build if tolling becomes necessary to keep the older claims alive. Whether Dupri’s team intends to make that argument, or whether Sony’s contracts simply don’t have the lookback restrictions that would make it necessary, isn’t something the public filings answer yet.

The professional category with the most at stake here is not managers — it’s entertainment attorneys handling legacy catalog administration, and independent label operators sitting on masters or production deals with major-affiliated accounting departments. If a desk audit can surface a two-decade concealment claim against a major, it raises the practical question of how many other legacy deals have similar gaps sitting unexamined because no one has ordered the audit.

The legal or financial mechanics

Two accounting mechanisms are doing the real work in this complaint, and neither is exotic — they’re standard features of major-label royalty administration that become disputes only when a party stops trusting the numbers.

The first is cross-collateralization of unrecouped balances, which the complaint accuses Sony of applying improperly. Labels are typically permitted, under standard agreements, to apply negative account balances — recoupable costs like advances, marketing spend, or video budgets — against incoming royalties before paying anything out. The complaint’s claim that a platinum-certified 1993 debut could still show a $1.5 million unrecouped balance decades later is consistent with — though not explicitly tied by the complaint to — improper offsetting against unrelated debits. Whether Sony’s deductions matched the cross-collateralization language in each of the seven contracts at issue is the factual question a court will need account-by-account statements to resolve.

The second is the segregated accounting system for Kris Kross royalties. Maintaining royalties in a system the rights holder doesn’t know exists is a materially different allegation from simply underpaying — it goes to intent, and intent is what would support any concealment-based argument for reaching the older claims, as well as the size of the interest component, which here exceeds the non-interest portion of the $18 million ask.

What independent operators need to know

Order a desk audit on any catalog or production deal older than seven years, regardless of how the relationship has felt. This case exists because Dupri’s side commissioned a third-party audit in 2025 on a deal that had been quiet for years. Nothing about the underlying relationship signaled a problem until the numbers were pulled.

Check your contract’s audit-rights clause for lookback limits. Many legacy agreements cap the period a royalty audit can examine at two or three years from each statement date. If Sony’s contracts contain standard language like that, most of what’s alleged here would be time-barred on the audit side alone — a separate and more mechanical obstacle than the statute-of-limitations question above.

Separate producer and override royalties from artist royalties in any audit scope. The Kris Kross allegations involve producer and override royalties specifically — an income stream that often sits in a different ledger than artist mechanicals and is more likely to go unexamined in a standard royalty audit.

For entertainment attorneys: Audit-clause lookback periods and concealment-based tolling arguments are about to get more industry attention; review how your standard audit provisions are drafted before a client asks why a 2003 royalty statement is suddenly relevant in 2026.

For music managers: A client’s “quiet” legacy deal is not evidence the accounting is clean — it’s evidence no one has looked. Budget for a periodic third-party audit on any catalog generating ongoing income, not just active deals.

For independent label operators: If your distribution or accounting infrastructure runs through a major’s systems, understand exactly how cross-collateralization is scoped in that agreement — which accounts offset which — before a partner audits you and finds out first.

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Today, Sango is back to release his new album RHYTHM & MELODY via Mass Appeal. Across the album Sango masterfully fuses the infectious energy of Afrobeats, the raw power of Michigan Rap, the high-speed bounce of New Orleans, the movement of Chicago footwork, as well as Baile Funk into a project that truly embraces the theme “there’s something for everybody.” With a heavy-hitting roster of platinum titans like Big Sean, Smino, and Goldlink, RHYTHM & MELODY is your first class ticket to travel the world via soundwaves.

Alongside the album’s release, Sango unveils the official music video for focus track “BIG LITTLE LIES” featuring Big Sean. Rooted in the traditions of Michigan rap, the track pairs Sango’s immersive production with a narrative-driven lyrical flow, showcasing the album’s seamless fusion of regional influences and forward-thinking sound. The release follows earlier singles “THE COLD,” featuring Babyface Ray, G.T., and Julian Andretti, and “ST. CLAUDE,” featuring legendary New Orleans artist “The Voice” HaSizzle, each offering a glimpse into the record’s expansive sonic world.

Sango has quietly amassed a massive catalog that explores the entire spectrum of music, from North Vol. 2, to the baile funk of his celebrated Da Rocinha series to the lush soul of his 2018 album In The Comfort Of. His production for artists like Tinashe, Bryson Tiller and GoldLink, Drake, Frank Ocean, Aaliyah, Little Dragon, The Weeknd and more highlights the mastery of his craft – he’s done it all.

At the young age of 12, Sango started producing music alongside his older brother and his friends, later joining the Los Angeles collective Soulection. His work mainly focuses on hip-hop and soul-influenced beats that, over the years, have been able to come together as his own distinctive, innovative sound. He is a master of Brazilian funk samples, electronic beats, and demonstration of cultural unity through sound.

The post Sango Releases New Album ‘RHYTHM & MELODY’ + New Video “BIG LITTLE LIES” ft. Big Sean. first appeared on Rap Industry: New Hip Hop, Rap Videos, Music, News, & more..