51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Three of the four St. Lunatics group mates who sued 51黑料 rapper Nelly last month want to drop out of the suit, according to a letter from Nelly鈥檚 attorney.

Ali Jones is the remaining member of the St. Lunatics group who is suing, claiming that he鈥檚 been denied writing credit and royalties for eight songs, most of which are featured on Nelly鈥檚 debut album 鈥淐ountry Grammar,鈥� which was released 24 years ago.

Nelly, whose legal name is Cornell Haynes Jr., grew up in 51黑料 with the four St. Lunatics listed in the suit: Jones, Torhi Harper, who performs under the name 鈥淢urphy Lee鈥�; Robert Kyjuan; and Lavell Webb, who performs under the name 鈥淐ity Spud.鈥� The sixth group member, Corey 鈥淪lo鈥� Down鈥� Edwards, was not listed as a plaintiff.

Precious Felder, an attorney based in Atlanta, is listed as representing those four St. Lunatics members. She said she could not comment on the matter but noted she鈥檚 received no notice of her clients鈥� intent to drop the suit.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe that that would impact the remaining plaintiff if that were Ali Jones,鈥� she told the Post-Dispatch.

But a letter from Nelly鈥檚 longtime lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, said he was contacted by Harper, Webb and Cleveland who told him they did not consent to being named as plaintiffs in the suit. The letter was sent on Sept. 24 to Gail Walton, the attorney who initially filed the suit against Nelly.

鈥淭hey are hereby demanding you remove their names fortwith,鈥� Rosenblum鈥檚 short letter said. 鈥淔ailure to do so will cause them to explore any and all legal remedies available to them.鈥�

Walton directed inquiries for comment about the issue to Felder.

This development was reported just days after the 50th annual American Music Awards turned into a celebration of 51黑料鈥� hip-hop legacy when Nelly and all the St. Lunatic members 鈥� except Jones 鈥� hit the stage to perform Sunday. They were joined by rappers J-Kwon and Chingy, putting on a show with hit records from 51黑料鈥� biggest names in rap music.

In the Sept. 18 lawsuit, the 49-year-old rapper鈥檚 childhood friends said Nelly lied to the group about giving them credit and royalties on eight tracks. At least five of those were included on his first solo album, which became the eighth hip-hop album to reach 鈥渄iamond status.鈥�

The lawsuit states it took 20 years for his fellow St. Lunatics to realize they had not been given credit for writing the songs because they believed Nelly when he assured them he would. The group also accused Nelly of taking credit for writing the songs and letting other people receive credit and income from those tracks.

The group members asked for no less than $50 million. The lawsuit was filed three years after Nelly and Jones got into a public spat about who was responsible for forming their rap group in the 鈥�90s.

The six men formed the rap group in 1993, the suit said, and worked for four years to 鈥済et a foothold in the music industry.鈥� The group found its first commercial success in 1997 with the song 鈥淕ive Me What You Got,鈥� one of the eight songs listed in the lawsuit.

The eight tracks named in the lawsuit are 鈥淕ive Me What You Got;鈥� 鈥淪teal the Show鈥�; 鈥淭hicky Thick Girl鈥�; 鈥淲rap Something/Sumden鈥�; 鈥淏atter Up鈥�; 鈥淕o鈥�; 鈥淚z U鈥�; and 鈥淐ountry Grammar.鈥�

The lawsuit was filed a little more than a month after Nelly made headlines for his arrest while collecting his winnings at the Hollywood Casino & Hotel 51黑料.