Snoop Dogg has reached a settlement with a veteran studio musician who accused the legendary rapper of failing to license two backing tracks used on his 2022 album BODR.
Snoop (Calvin Broadus) and session musician Trevor Lawrence Jr. filed a joint motion on Tuesday (June 24) to dismiss their litigation. A previous court filing says the two men reached a settlement with the help of a mediator back in April, though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Lawrence, a well-known producer and drummer who has been credited on songs by Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar and other top artists, sued Snoop and his label, Death Row Records, last summer over claims that the rapper failed to clear backing tracks for the BODR songs “Pop Pop” and “Get This D–k.”
According to the lawsuit, Lawrence created these two backing tracks “on spec” and gave them to Snoop in 2020 to “experiment” with in the studio. Lawrence’s attorneys said the producer made clear that Snoop would need to officially license the tracks if he wanted to include them in an album, but the rapper allegedly released BODR two years later without a licensing agreement in place.
Lawrence’s lawsuit also alleged that Snoop didn’t get his permission before releasing “Pop Pop” and “Get This D–k” as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a move that supposedly generated tens of millions of dollars in profits.
Snoop’s lawyers denied any wrongdoing, saying the rapper exchanged a draft deal with Lawrence and paid him a $20,000 producer fee before BODR was released. Lawrence cashed this $20,000 check, Snoop’s team alleged, effectively conceding that the proposed deal terms had been accepted.
The rapper’s attorneys blasted Lawrence for seeking a “preposterous windfall” of millions of dollars through the litigation.
“If Lawrence is entitled to any monies from defendants, it is the agreed-upon producer royalties offset against the $20,000 that he was already paid,” wrote Snoop’s counsel in a December court filing.
The case had been on track to go to trial this September in Los Angeles federal court before a settlement was reached.
An attorney for Lawrence, Frank Trechsel, tells Billboard that he cannot discuss the terms of the deal but says, “Our client is happy to have resolved the dispute.”
Snoop’s reps and lawyers did not immediately return requests for comment.
BODR peaked at No. 104 on the Billboard 200 in February 2022. Neither “Pop Pop” nor “Get This D–k” charted.
