Cordae's Old Label Sues Him For $25 Million And Wants His Anderson .Paak Album Blocked

MMMG Inc. sued Cordae, EMPIRE, Apeshit and Mass Appeal in New York federal court on Oct. 15, 2026, claiming his 2018 recording deal is still in force. It seeks at least $25 million in total ($15 million of it from Cordae for alleged breach) and an order to block releases, eight days before his Anderson .Paak album "Heavy Is the Crown" is due Oct. 23. Allegations only.

Cordae is being sued for at least $25 million in total, and the company suing him wants a judge to stop his new album with Anderson .Paak from coming out.

MMMG Inc. filed the lawsuit in New York federal court on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, eight days before "Heavy Is the Crown," the joint Cordae and Anderson .Paak album, is set to drop on Oct. 23. The public docket (case 1:26-cv-09079) shows the complaint was filed that day. AllHipHop obtained the 20-page complaint.

The suit names Cordae, born Cordae Dunston, along with EMPIRE, Apeshit and Mass Appeal, the labels behind the album rollout.

MMMG claims a recording deal Cordae signed in April 2018 is still in force and still binds him to record for MMMG alone. "Defendants never requested nor received a license from MMMG to release this album," MMMG's lawyer, Jeffrey M. Movit of Cohen & Gresser, wrote.

According to the complaint, Atlantic ended its distribution deal on Sept. 2, 2025. MMMG says it lined up a new deal with Stem and told Cordae's lawyers two days later, which it argues kept his contract alive under a six-month window to find a new distributor. MMMG says Cordae's lawyers later disputed whether the Stem deal met the contract's terms.

The suit also goes after "A Good Day," the Cordae and Anderson .Paak single and video released Sept. 16. MMMG also claims Cordae kept its share of money from merch, touring and other work, writing that "he refuses to pay MMMG its contractual share of the revenues."

Altogether MMMG is asking for at least $25 million. That breaks down to at least $15 million from Cordae for alleged breach of contract, at least $5 million from the labels for allegedly causing that breach, at least $5 million or statutory damages over "A Good Day," a jury trial, and an order barring further use of recordings it says it owns.

These are allegations in a lawsuit. No response from Cordae or the labels appeared on the docket as of Oct. 15, and none of the claims have been proven in court.

Correction (Oct. 17, 2026): An earlier version of this story put the total at $15 million. That is only the breach-of-contract claim; the complaint's three claims add up to at least $25 million, as Billboard and Complex also report.

Sources: The complaint, MMMG Inc. v. Dunston p/k/a Cordae, S.D.N.Y. 1:26-cv-09079 (ECF No. 1); Billboard; Complex (Oct. 16, 2026); AllHipHop (Grouchy Greg Watkins, Oct. 15, 2026); public federal docket 1:26-cv-09079 (Oct. 15, 2026); Rolling Stone (album announcement, Aug. 19, 2026). Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage via Getty Images, "The Global Home of Hip Hop" launch party, New York, Oct. 8, 2026.