Producer ‘Deezle’ Goes After UMG for $3M Over Missing Royalties from Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter III’

Producer Darius "Deezle" Harrison has filed a $3 million lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). He claims missing payments for his work on six songs he produced on Lil Wayne's 2008 album, Tha Carter III.

According to Harrison's court papers, the royalty payments stopped in 2012, just after he settled an earlier dispute with Cash Money Records. His deal promised 4% royalties for his contributions to Tha Carter III work and 3% from Birdman's 2005 Fast Money album, but he hasn't received his part in years.

"Plaintiffs have not been paid any producer royalties associated with the YME Producer Agreement or CMR Producer Agreement for over a decade," wrote attorney Christopher L. Brown, according to Billboard.

UMG bought Young Money's catalog in a massive $100 million deal back in 2020. Harrison's legal team asserts that the recordings in question have fully recouped their costs, and UMG owes the producer over $3 million in unpaid royalties.

As a key creator behind Tha Carter III, Deezle worked on several hit tracks, with "Lollipop" standing out as a major success. The album sold over one million copies in its first week and has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.

And Harrison is not alone. More artists keep knocking on UMG's door with similar claims. Salt-N-Pepa and Limp Bizkit are also calling out the record company, wanting answers about their missing payments. So far, neither UMG nor Lil Wayne has responded to these claims.

This isn't Harrison's first time going the legal route to take what he's owed. Back in 2011, he took his first shot at justice, suing Wayne, Cash Money Records, and Young Money Entertainment. However, they reached a settlement in 2012, and UMG started sending checks but then stopped again.

Now, Deezle is back once again, demanding his rights.