Empire is asking a court to bind Lucki to his 2024 contract after the Chicago rapper shared the song “Not So Virgo of You” via UnitedMasters.
Lucki has been sued by Empire Distribution for breach of contract after releasing the song “Not So Virgo of You” with one of its chief competitors, UnitedMasters. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday (October 21) in San Francisco Superior Court, Empire claims that Lucki and his attorneys used deceptive methods to attempt to exit a contract signed in 2024; Empire is asking the court to reaffirm the agreement’s terms as well as relief blocking further Non-Empire releases.
In June 2024, Lucki signed a deal with Empire giving the distributor options for three more albums giving Empire exclusive rights to distribute the music. Empire claims that gave notice of the option in August with a formal notice after spending over $600,000 in production and studio expenses. The suit also alleges that Empire has paid $9 million in advances and expenses since 2019.
Empire says that unbeknownst to them, Lucki had terminated the option the month before. In July, Lucki’s attorney sent Empire a letter criticizing the 2024 contract. The company alleges that the letter concealed a notice terminating Empire’s option at the very end of the correspondence, and that the notice was left out of a version of the letter emailed to Empire. This was intended to “trick” Empire into missing the chance to accept the option, the suit says.
“Not So Virgo of You” has since been removed from streaming platforms, though rips of the music video are still on YouTube. His upcoming album DR*GS R BAD was originally slated for fall 2025. The FADER has reached out to Lucki’s representatives for more information.