Cam'ron has sued fellow hip-hop star J. Cole, claiming he was never paid for his contribution to J. Cole's 2024 track Ready '24, and that Cole reneged on a quid-pro-quo to appear on a Cam'ron track.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday (October 28) in a federal court in New York, Cam'ron (legal name Cameron Giles) said he contributed lyrics to Ready '24 and his vocals appeared on the recording, which was released in 2024 and appeared on Cole's fourth mixtape, Might Delete Later.
Giles said he agreed to collaborate on Ready '24 on the conditions that he would be allowed to sign off on the track before it was released, and that Cole would appear on a future Cam'ron song. The complaint says Cole agreed to those terms.
However, the complaint alleges that none of this ever happened, and he has never received compensation for his contribution to Ready '24. Giles is listed as a co-author on the composition, but is not credited on the recording despite his vocals appearing on the track, the complaint added.
"Plaintiff never received compensation from Cole, nor did he convey in writing any rights in the sound recording to Cole or the other defendants," stated the complaint, which can be read in full here.
"Plaintiff has not been paid any royalties from the exploitation of the composition or sound recording."
The complaint says the composition was registered with the Copyright Office by Warner Chappell Music, but the recording was never registered.
"Plaintiff never received compensation from Cole, nor did he convey in writing any rights in the sound recording to Cole or the other defendants."
Cam'ron's legal complaint against J. Cole
Giles says he was in touch with Cole following the recording of Ready '24 in New York in 2022, but after failing to get Cole to agree to appear on one of his tracks, he suggested Cole appear on Cam'ron's sports podcast It Is What It Is. Cole allegedly agreed to appear at a later date, but then repeatedly said he was unavailable to appear.
The complaint asks the court to declare that Cam'ron is a co-author the sound recording of Ready '24, and for Cam'ron to be granted his "proportionate share" of the song's earnings, as well as court costs and attorneys' fees.