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Drake ex sues over Marvins Room monologue

By | Published on Monday 6 February 2012

Drake

The woman whose voice is heard on the other end of a phone call at the start of Drake’s 2011 track ‘Marvins Room’ is suing the hip hopper for a cut of the royalties generated by the track.

Ericka Lee says she is the rapper’s ex-girlfriend, and that during their romantic relationship they also shared poems and song lyrics, and discussed other possible creative projects. One of those creative collaborations, she claims, was ‘Marvins Room’, for which she provided backing vocals and the all-important opening monologue, credited under the pseudonym Syren Lyric Muse. But, Lee’s lawsuit says, she has not been paid for her contribution.

The litigation cites text messages from Drake that seemingly confirm her involvement in the track, and his opinion that it was her contributions that made it special. One text reads “U basically made that song”, while another apparently admits that “it’s shit without you”. Lee seemingly registered a claim over the track with the US Copyright Office shortly after its release, though another application by Drake’s label described Lee as an “employee for hire”, rather than a creator with a direct claim to co-ownership of the song.

Things went legal after the couple’s relationship ended – Lee claims Drake offered her a 2% cut of the publishing royalties in the song, but turned nasty after she knocked back the proposal. Lee’s lawsuit claims Drake subsequently increased his offer to 4-5%, but she wants the courts to name her co-writer of the song and give her access to accounts relating to the track’s revenue, so she can claim both damages and unpaid royalties.

A rep for Drake called Lee’s legal claim a “frivolous lawsuit” that was “entirely without merit”. The spokeswoman added: “Ericka Lee consented to the use of her voice in the song ‘Marvins Room’ prior to its release. Lee asked only for the credit she received as Syren Lyric Muse, and she did not ask for any compensation. It was only after she retained a lawyer that there was a demand for payment. Drake tried for months to resolve the matter amicably, and he now looks forward to being vindicated in court”.



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