Drake Sued Over 'Marvin's Room' by Purported Ex-Girlfriend (Exclusive)

Last year, hip-hop superstar Drake released a song, "Marvin's Room," that quickly went viral and prompted various remixes by fellow artists intrigued by the depiction of a young woman on a phone call as the rapper drunkenly croons, "You could do better.

Now, Ericka Lee, revealing herself to be Drake's ex-girlfriend, has stepped up, saying she was the voice on the other end of the phone call. The woman is now suing Drake for excluding her from sharing co-writer royalties on one of his biggest recent hits.
Lee filed the lawsuit on Thursday in California federal court claiming the two had a romantic and business partnership between early 2010 and mid-2011. During the relationship, the two are said to have traded poems and song lyrics and discussed joint creative projects.

Last year, Drake allegedly agreed to work with Lee on "Marvin's Room" and split the proceeds. Lee says she was asked to record the song's "hook" as well as the opening monologue that would serve as the thematic framework for a song about Drake's yearning for an ex-girlfriend and how his fame interfered with his love life. "Plaintiff's contribution is highly significant to the overall work," says the complaint.
Drake supposedly acknowledged Lee's contributions in text messages sent to her. One read, "U basically made that song." Another read, "It's s--t without you."
Drake purportedly gave Lee credit as a "vocalist" on the song as "Syren Lyric Muse." Additionally, the parties are said to have registered the sound recording at the U.S. Copyright Office. On July 11, Lee made a claim there, saying, "My works and voice are used on this work." About six weeks later, Drake's label, Cash Money Records made its own claim, saying that the song author was an "employer for hire."

Lee reports that after the song was released, their relationship ended and got ugly fast. The two discussed meeting in Los Angeles, but it never happened. According to the complaint, Drake later sent a text message to Lee that offered her 2 percent of "publishing royalties."
By November, Lee hired a lawyer, which allegedly caused Drake to make threatening phone calls. "What the f--- is your problem?" he said to her, according to the complaint, then offering her "4-5%" of publishing monies plus a $50,000 payout to go away.
Instead, Lee has filed a lawsuit over "Marvin's Room," which has been viewed more than 39 million times on YouTube. She demands a judge declare her as co-writer of the song. She's also seeking damages and disgorgement of profits on allegations of breach of fiduciary duties and unjust enrichment. Lee is represented by Neville Johnson, who previously filed a lawsuit against Drake on behalf of Playboy Enterprises for sampling an unauthorized sound recording it owned on "Best I Ever Had."

Drake's reps gave this comment:

"This claim is entirely without merit and our client has not engaged in any wrongful conduct. Ericka Lee consented to the use of her voice in the song 'Marvin’s Room' prior to its release. Lee asked only for the credit she received as 'Syren Lyric Muse,' and she did not ask for any compensation. It was only after she retained a lawyer that there was a demand for payment. Drake tried for months to resolve the matter amicably, and he now looks forward to being vindicated in court."

Here's the video to "Marvin's Room":

Drake Really Wants To Play Barack Obama In A Movie

Before he was known strictly by his middle name, Aubrey Drake Graham was known to millions of North American teenagers as Jimmy Brooks, the wheelchair-bound former basketball player who occasionally rapped awkwardly on Canadian television series "Degrassi: The Next Generation," from 2001 to 2009. And while he recently admitted to Rolling Stone that he’s typically offered roles playing rappers or athletes, he’s hoping and preparing for a chance at his dream role: President Barack Obama.
Drake Makes Up With Tattoo Artist, Another Fan Gets Drake Tattoo
This isn’t just a passing fancy, as it turns out. Drake’s been trying to actualize this idea through interviews for more than a year. “I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama’s life soon because I could play him,” he told Paper magazine in July 2010. “Anytime I see him on TV, I don't change the channel, I definitely pay attention and listen to the inflections of his voice. If you ask anyone who knows me, I'm pretty good at impressions.”
"I've been reading scripts for awhile," he told Rolling Stone this year. "I want to do something great. I want to do something for my culture: the younger people who are still in tune with everything going on. I’m actually writing with my friends right now."
Drake’s biracial heritage gives him a similar complexion to Obama’s, and they both happen to hover at just over six feet tall. He’s already proven that he’s got charisma when it comes to the camera, and the work ethic needed to get through a grueling film shoot.
Ultimately, if Drake really is a good impressionist like Affion Crockett (who has famously impersonated him), he actually might not be a bad candidate.

Young Money's Cory Gunz Arrested With A Loaded Gun

His dad, rapper Peter Gunz, confirms report to MTV News: 'To go to a precinct and see your son in handcuffs, it's heartbreaking.'

Veteran Bronx MC Peter Gunz confirmed to MTV News early Sunday (January 29) that his son, rapper Cory Gunz, was arrested for gun possession in the Bronx, New York, on Saturday afternoon.
"The details are still sketchy, but I can confirm that he was arrested with a firearm yesterday in the Bronx," Gunz told MTV News. "They caught him around 2 p.m. in the afternoon with a loaded gun in his knapsack.
"It was definitely an illegal search," Peter added.
Gunz was unable to disclose full details on the incident just yet, but he explained the events leading up to his son's arrest. "I spoke to the arresting officer, and so far, what I'm hearing from him is that they got a phone call at the station saying they should 'look out,' " Gunz said. "According to [the officer], they didn't know he was Cory Gunz. They just saw a bunch of kids following him around.
"What I will say is that the officer that arrested Cory actually happened to be a cool dude," Gunz continued. "After arresting Cory, sitting down with him and talking, he felt bad about the situation."
The 24-year-old rapper was brought to the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx on Saturday, but officials there say he has since been transported to Central Booking, on E. 161st Street in the Bronx.
While this is Cory Gunz's first brush with the law, his father is still worried about the potential fallout from a firearm charge.
"At the end of the day, there's a reason for everything, but at the same time, in New York, it's mandatory jail time," he said. "To go to a precinct and see your son, your junior, in handcuffs, it's heartbreaking. Anytime you see your child in jail, in the cell, in handcuffs, it's very hard. He's walked down some of the same paths that I walked down, but you never want to see your kids go through what you went through.
"This is Cory's first offense, but sometimes they like to make an example out of rappers and people with any kind of celebrity to them."
In April 2011, Cory Gunz and his father starred in the six-part MTV docu-series "Son of a Gun," which charted the young rapper's rise to fame. The younger Gunz is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money label.

 

Lil Wayne to Offer Firsthand Account of His Prison Stint in Memoir

A little more than a year after he was released from prison, Lil Wayne is ready to share details of his eight-month stint behind bars on a gun possession charge. On Thursday, January 12, Grand Central Publishing announced that the 29-year-old rapper has signed with the company, which is a division of Hachette Book Group, to publish a memoir titled "Gone Till November".

"We are thrilled to be publishing Wayne's prison memoir," said executive editor Ben Greenberg. Dishing that it is based on the diaries Weezy kept while serving his term in New York City's Rikers Island in 2010, he added, "[Weezy] kept detailed journals of his inner and outer life while he was on Rikers Island, and they certainly tell a story. They are revealing."

"Gone Till November" is set to hit the shelves across the United States on November 28, and will offer details of the "Lollipop" rapper's thoughts and feelings, the people he met, his plans, his family, his children, his past and his future. It may also include the weeks he spent in solitary confinement for sneaking headphones and a charger for an MP3 player into his cell.

Weezy was sentenced to a year in prison in March 2010 after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon stemming from his 2007 arrest. The rapper, who has won four Grammy Awards and is nominated for five this year, got out of jail four months early because of good behavior.

Video: Lil Wayne Sings “Shot For Me” With Drake On Stage

Damn, I don’t know how I missed this. Anyways, OVO just posted a clip of Lil Wayne singing one of my favorite songs of Drake‘s Take Care album, “Shot For Me“, while Drizzy was on stage with him. The footage is from Weezy‘s show last month in Johannesburg, South Africa at the Coca-Cola Dome.
In other news, Birdman recently spoke on Tunechi dropping 2 albums this year. I’m really not sure if we will actually get 2 albums from Tune this year (you know what Baby is like), but I do think we will get I Am Not A Human Being II for sure.

Birdman Signs "American Idol" Alum Chris Richardson To Cash Money Records

Baby inks a deal with the singer-songwriter, who appeared on the sixth season of the reality show competition.

Baby inks a deal with the singer-songwriter, who appeared on the sixth season of the reality show competition.

Birdman has announced the signing of American Idol alum Chris Richardson to Young Money/Cash Money Records.
In a PSA revealing the news, Birdman shares his love for Richardson, who recently appeared singing the hook on Tyga’s “Far Away.”

“You might have saw him, he started off the way we recognized his talent, on American Idol. Somebody who knew him, knew us and Josh connected us,” he said. “That’s how this started, us watching his talent on TV.”
Richardson, who plans on releasing his YMCMB debut in May, recently released his video for his single “In the Name of Love.” The 27-year-old initially appeared on AI’s sixth season, finishing in fifth place.
“Being part of this team, I’m really family-oriented so just having the comradery of everyone in this label is just something so special. I can’t even explain it. But it definitely is inspiring. Every day I come into the studio and I go until I stop, really. I’m so inspired to all my label mates, everybody here are still here doing the same thing.”