T-Pain sues Akon’s record label, claiming he’s owed nearly $500K in royalties
TheGrio...
The singer alleges Konvict Entertainment failed to pay his full share of royalties from recent music sales.
T-Pain is taking Akon’s record label back to court, alleging Konvict Entertainment owes him nearly $500,000 in royalties from recent music sales.
The Grammy-winning singer, whose legal name is Faheem Rashad Najm, filed the new case Friday in Fulton (Ga.) County Superior Court, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Konvict Entertainment, which Akon co-founded, is the only defendant.
T-Pain alleges the label owes him $489,047 from a $1,304,127 royalty payment it received from a distributor at the end of March for record sales during the second half of 2025.
According to the complaint, his 2005 recording agreement and a 2025 settlement entitle him to 75% of the net royalties Konvict receives from distributors for his music. He says he separately received royalties directly from the distributor for “Freaknik: The Musical.”
The lawsuit alleges Konvict paid T-Pain $489,047 in early June, representing half of the royalties he says he was owed, but did not pay the remaining portion. T-Pain claims the label told his representatives to pursue its affiliate BuVision for the balance, but those efforts went unanswered.
The dispute revives a legal battle between T-Pain and Konvict that began in 2018. In that earlier lawsuit, T-Pain accused the label of failing to pay royalties connected to his music. Konvict denied liability but agreed to pay him $114,000 under a 2025 settlement that resolved royalties collected through the end of 2024.
T-Pain now alleges Konvict breached both the original recording agreement and that settlement by failing to pay the remaining 2025 royalties.
The new case arrives as T-Pain has increasingly spoken publicly about the financial side of the music business. In August, he said shrinking streaming payouts influenced his decision to sell publishing and select master rights to HarbourView Equity Partners in 2025.
The T-Pain royalties lawsuit remains unresolved, and the allegations have not been proven in court.