Nicki Minaj’s Producer Sues Ex-Biz Partners Over $8 Million Con (Exclusive)

Source: Apple Music/Beats 1 Radio / Apple Music/Beats 1 Radio

Producer Of Nicki Minaj’s Album “Queen” Said Trill Entertainment Defrauded Him Of Millions

A man who produced several hits on Nicki Minaj’s album “Queen” accused his ex-business partners of exploiting his talent and fleecing him out of $6 to $8 million of his hard earned cash.

That’s according to a new federal lawsuit from “Chun-Li” producer J. Reid, who sued his former music publisher Trill Entertainment for breach of contract, copyright infringement, lost profits and breach of fiduciary duty. Reid, a renown music producer, accused the company of going behind his back to claim his royalties from his work on Minaj’s album “Queen.”

The suit, which was filed last week in Georgia’s Federal Court, also alleged that the company’s principals, Marcus Roach and Melvin Vernell, pretended to be Reid’s agents and negotiated business deals when they had no legal right to do so.

Reid signed a contract with Trill for them to handle his royalties and split the profits down the middle. But after Reid said Trill Entertainment leased a studio in his name without his knowledge and skipped town, leaving him in the lurch, the pair agreed to part ways.

Reid said despite Trill Entertainment agreeing to release him from the contract, the company continued to collect royalty payments that belonged to him and do business on his behalf.

The producer said he discovered the alleged fraud last summer when a company contacted him to get clearance for a song and told him that Trill Entertainment was trying to lay claim to the record.

Reid said he’s tried to confront Trill Entertainment several times about their alleged misdealing, but neither Roach nor Vernell ever responded.

“All the work that I’ve done for your company, I never would’ve thought you guys would take food out of my daughter’s mouth,” Reid told BOSSIP. “Those guys showed me a lot and I was appreciative to the work I did, but I never thought they would try to steal from me!”

In total, Reid believes Trill defrauded him out $6 to $8 million.

Reid said Trill Entertainment’s shenanigans has cost him majorly: besides the royalty money that the company never paid, Reid said he’s missed out on working with major music labels.

Reid wants a judge to force Trill to stop officially declare their contract null and void, force Trill to stop doing business on his behalf and punitive damages.

Lawyers for Trill Productions hadn’t responded to Reid’s suit as of Feb. 27.