Chris Brown sued by songwriter for unpaid royalties on hit songs 'Monalisa' and 'Sensational'
A songwriter has filed a lawsuit against Chris Brown, claiming that he was denied royalties and credits for his contributions on two of Brown's hit songs.
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Chris Brown is facing a lawsuit.
The American singer is being sued by a songwriter called Steve Chokpelle, who alleges that he never received any royalties for two of Brown’s hit songs, “Sensational” and “Monalisa.”
Just recently, Chokpelle filed a lawsuit claiming that he wrote the lyrics for “Monalisa” in 2020 in Brown’s home in California, but he is not credited on the song.
Chokpelle further alleges that he also wrote the lyrics for the song "Sensational" in 2023, which topped the charts with producer Onyekachi Emenalo (known as Krazytunez) before sharing it with the R&B star, according to online reports.
While Chokpelle is listed as a composer on the credits of “Sensational”, he claims he was purposely excluded from the song's copyright registration and has not received any money made from the song.
In his lawsuit, Chokpelle is seeking a court order to be declared an author and co-copyright owner of the songs “Monalisa” and “Sensational.”
“Defendants sustained a tremendous benefit, and shall continue to receive tremendous benefit, by [earning] millions in revenues, acclaim, accolades and goodwill from the commercial exploitation of ‘Monalisa’ and ‘Sensational’.
“As a result of defendants’ failure to acknowledge plaintiff’s authorship and copyright ownership interests, and by their failure to compensate plaintiff, defendants have been unjustly enriched,” the lawsuit states, according to multiple online reports.
In addition, he is demanding at least $1 million (approximately R16 million) in damages from Brown, Kingston, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), based on claims of unjust enrichment and fraud.
This lawsuit is one of many lawsuits that the “Residuals” hitmaker has faced over the past few years.
In 2025, the multi-award-winning singer faced a lawsuit over trademark infringement.
A swimwear company in the US called Breezy Swim claimed that Brown’s use of “Breezy Bowl” world tour clashes with the branding of their annual fashion show that is also called “Breezy Bowl.”
The R&B singer's team has not yet publicly addressed either of the lawsuits.