Drake’s first label can sue Cash Money, Universal, for profits

“Soon as the album drop, I’m out of the deal,” Drake raps on Is There More, a track on the new Scorpion album.

The rap superstar suggests that his eight-record deal with Cash Money, first signed in 2009, could be at an end.

However, there could be a dispute as to which of his albums could count towards the total.

But in the meantime, Cash Money has another problem with Drake.

A New York judge has decreed that the Canadian’s first record label, Aspire Music Group, can go ahead with suing Cash Money and Universal Music Group for long demanded profits.

As the Hollywood Reporter recounts, Aspire signed the unknown Drake in 2008, after he was discovered on his MySpace page.

Aspire was co-founded by Cortez Bryant, former manager of Lil’ Wayne.

A year later, it assigned the Drake deal to Young Money Entertainment, a joint venture between Cash Money and Lil Wayne.

The deal was that Aspire would get one-third of net profits from Drake’s first six solo albums and a third share in the copyrights.

As Drake has turned out to be a financial windfall, Aspire has complained that Cash Money has been reluctant to share the profits, and tried to take the issue to court a number of times.

In the most recent episode, Cash Money argued the deal called for Aspire to object to object within two years of receiving an accounting statement, and tried to get the New York court to dismiss it on those grounds.

But as the Hollywood Reporter states, New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager refused to do so, on the grounds that “Aspire alleges the Money Defendants provided deceptive statements reflecting no monies due to Aspire and eventually ceased providing Aspire with any accounting statements.

“Aspire has provided documentary evidence of at least one request to conduct an audit of Cash Money and Cash Money's purported failure to adequately respond."

Universal Music is involved in the case because a court case can find that it is technically the owner of Cash Money.

Through the years Drake too has alleged he should have been paid more money by Cash Money.

In one instance, at a Detroit concert, he freestyled, “Had niggas tell me to my face how we were family and how they love me/While they were skimming off the budget.”

Cash Money has recently settled a $51 million lawsuit with Lil Wayne.