Chris Brown's Songwriting Dispute Escalates as He Fails to Give Credit to Original Composer Steve Chokpelle.
A new lawsuit has been filed against R&B singer Chris Brown, claiming that he cut songwriter Steve Chokpelle out of credits and compensation for his two hit songs "Monalisa" and "Sensational". The allegations surfaced in a 13-page complaint filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
Chokpelle's lawsuit accuses Brown of depriving him of proper credit and fair compensation for the lyrics he wrote for "Monalisa", which was released in June 2021, and "Sensational", which dropped on Brown's 2023 album '11:11'. The track "Sensational" received significant airplay, reaching number one on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and number 71 on the Hot 100.
The lawsuit claims that Chokpelle was at Brown's Los Angeles home with Sean Kingston in 2020 when he composed lyrics for "Monalisa", which later gained international recognition after a remix featuring Nigerian musicians Lojay and Sarz peaked at number eight on Billboard's U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
Chokpelle is seeking damages from Brown, Kingston, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group, as well as a court order declaring him an author and copyright owner of the two songs. The lawsuit asserts that "Monalisa" and "Sensational" generated millions in revenue but Chokpelle did not receive any compensation.
The lawsuit further states that Brown's actions have resulted in a tremendous benefit to himself, while Chokpelle has been unfairly deprived of his rightful credit and compensation. It demands an accounting of all revenues earned by Brown from the commercial exploitation of the two songs, both past and ongoing into the future.
A new lawsuit has been filed against R&B singer Chris Brown, claiming that he cut songwriter Steve Chokpelle out of credits and compensation for his two hit songs "Monalisa" and "Sensational". The allegations surfaced in a 13-page complaint filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
Chokpelle's lawsuit accuses Brown of depriving him of proper credit and fair compensation for the lyrics he wrote for "Monalisa", which was released in June 2021, and "Sensational", which dropped on Brown's 2023 album '11:11'. The track "Sensational" received significant airplay, reaching number one on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and number 71 on the Hot 100.
The lawsuit claims that Chokpelle was at Brown's Los Angeles home with Sean Kingston in 2020 when he composed lyrics for "Monalisa", which later gained international recognition after a remix featuring Nigerian musicians Lojay and Sarz peaked at number eight on Billboard's U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
Chokpelle is seeking damages from Brown, Kingston, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group, as well as a court order declaring him an author and copyright owner of the two songs. The lawsuit asserts that "Monalisa" and "Sensational" generated millions in revenue but Chokpelle did not receive any compensation.
The lawsuit further states that Brown's actions have resulted in a tremendous benefit to himself, while Chokpelle has been unfairly deprived of his rightful credit and compensation. It demands an accounting of all revenues earned by Brown from the commercial exploitation of the two songs, both past and ongoing into the future.
Chris Brown's reputation just hit rock bottom. He can't even be bothered to give credit where credit is due? I feel so bad for Steve Chokpelle, he deserves way more than a pat on the back... or in this case, millions of dollars 
. This guy has been playing the victim and it's not fair at all 
.
this is fishy, you know? like brown's just trying to get out of paying up, but then he uses those same lyrics on another song... what's his game? 
and now chokpelle's coming for him with a lawsuit, I'm not surprised. the system's rigged, fam 
maybe there's more to "sensational" than meets the eye... 
. And it's not just about the money, it's about having your work recognized and respected 
. I hope Chokpelle gets what he deserves, he deserves to be compensated for his hard work and creativity 
. Maybe this will teach Chris Brown to be more considerate in the future? Fingers crossed 
he poured his heart out for those songs and got zero credit or cash 
I feel bad for him, someone needs to give him a hand up 
- after all, "A man is not a fool if he doesn't know what a fool looks like" but it seems Chris Brown has been pretending to be one with Steve Chokpelle! This whole situation is just plain unfair and it's time for the truth to come out. Justice will be served