Nelly Raises Questions About St. Lunatics Lawsuit With AMAs Performance

Nelly performed with the St. Lunatics at the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary special on Sunday (October 6). The performance occurred just a few weeks after the group sued Nelly for copyright infringement and unjust enrichment.

St. Lunatics member Ali, rumored to be the driving force behind the lawsuit, was notably absent. Lingering legal issues did not stop Ali from promoting the group’s AMAs appearance.

“Tune in, it’s going to be epic,” he wrote on Instagram before the show.

Chingy and J-Kwon also participated in Nelly’s AMAs set, which aired on CBS. Nelly joked about the lawsuit a day before the event.

“STL INVADES @amas …!!!” he wrote. “An[d] anyone who has a problem with that “Sue” me…!!!”

The St. Lunatics lawsuit alleged they never received proper compensation for their work on Nelly’s diamond-selling album Country Grammar, which dropped in 2000. The group didn’t seek legal action for two decades because they believed “their friend and former band member would never steal credit.”

Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes, was accused of fraudulently claiming to be the sole author of multiple tracks created with the St. Lunatics. The lawsuit said Nelly lied to his friends, preventing them from “receiving the financial success they were entitled to as writers.”

“Despite repeated assurances by defendant Haynes that plaintiffs would receive their writing credit and .publishing income for creating the Original Compositions, plaintiffs, sometime in 2020, eventually discovered that defendant Haynes had been lying to them the entire time,” the lawsuit contended. “Plaintiffs eventually discovered that not only did they not receive any credit as authors and/or creators of the Original Compositions, but that defendant Haynes, and others, took full credit for creating the Original Compositions contained in the Infringing Album.”

The St. Lunatics asked for at least $50 million in damages.

Due to completely foreseen circumstances, we are losing our mind rn because Nelly just brought out @chingyfulldekk, J-Kwon, and St. Lunatics! 🤯 #AMAs50 pic.twitter.com/0TItzXn5PH

— American Music Awards (@AMAs) October 7, 2024