I’ll be the first to say that rap lyrics should not be heavily relied on as evidence in criminal matters. The art form is prone to grandiose fibbing, the exact sort of thing you’d want to keep out of courtrooms in matters of life, death, and beyond a reasonable doubt standards. My stance isn’t as strong for civil matters, though. The preponderance of the evidence standard you’ll find in civil matters is a lot closer to more likely than not and, even after acknowledging how rappers present themselves need not correspond to how they actually are, I’d be very cautious about making a handshake deal with a rapper that stated “I know contracts is like handcuffs” and “I don’t make songs for free, I make ’em for freedom.”
Chance the Rapper — known largely for Acid Rap classics, that album we do not speak of, and famous adlibs that sound like he keeps finding large spider in places they shouldn’t be — is in a multimillion-dollar handshake contract dispute with his former manager. Chicago Sun Times has coverage:
Chance the Rapper’s big day came on Tuesday as he took the stand to testify in a jury trial stemming from a five-plus-year legal battle with his former manager, which has put a spotlight on independent artist-manager partnerships and the risks of verbal contracts.
At the heart of the dispute are Pat Corcoran’s claims that he is owed $3 million by the hip-hop star, born Chancelor Bennett, in unpaid commissions after he was let go from his managerial role in 2020. According to Corcoran (AKA Pat The Manager), the two had a “sunset clause” in place that entitled him to royalties for a period of three years post-termination, although the two former friends famously operated on a handshake deal with no written contract that defined the terms of their working arrangement.
Handshake deals!? COME ON, NOW!
As a relatively normal person, I can cut Chance the Rapper some slack considering that the PSA against handshake contracts “The Founder” wouldn’t come out for another five years:
But as a manager, you’d expect Corcoran to explain that writing things down would be best practices for protecting himself and his client.
Luckily for Corcoran, Chance’s admission to some sort of deal makes the hill a lot easier to climb:
“We never described it as a contract until he sued me. We had an at-will agreement that didn’t address termination,” Bennett testified in Cook County Circuit at the Daley Center as his parents, including father Ken Bennett, who now acts as one of his managers, looked on.
“We moved that way forever. We never discussed the sunset clause, we just discussed how I’d pay him. And one thing that stayed consistent is that I paid him his 15% [in net proceeds]. … I kept paying him that 15%,” the rapper said. “I can’t think of one situation where he did meaningful work and I didn’t pay him.”
Sucks to be on the hook for an “I got you,” but that’s what lawyers are for!
Musicians signing their names on deals that are heavily skewed toward music execs isn’t anything new. But Chance’s relative success without a record deal was. It is a shame that a prime example of breaking the mold has to be settled in a courtroom.
Chance The Rapper Faces Off With Former Manager In Court Amid Years-Long Legal Battle [Chicago Sun Times]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boat builder who is learning to swim and is interested in rhetoric, Spinozists and humor. Getting back in to cycling wouldn’t hurt either. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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