Megan Thee Stallion has filed a lawsuit against her record label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, over what constitutes as an album in her contract.
At the core of the dispute is the 2021 release of "Something for Thee Hotties," which was classified as a mixtape.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Ruth Pete, received a letter in January from her label alleging that "Something for Thee Hotties" did not count as an album in terms of fulfilling her recording contract. Artists often sign record deals with an agreement of how many albums they will release before they can renegotiate or leave the label.
And while the details pertaining to Megan Thee Stallion's contract have not been made public, the lawsuit cited by Entertainment Weekly claims that the contract's only criteria for defining an album is that it should be at least 45 minutes in length. "Something for Thee Hotties" is exactly 45 minutes and two seconds long.
"Given that 1501 waited more than two months after Pete's release of the album 'Something for Thee Hotties' to take this position, it is clear that its position is frivolous and has no basis in law or fact," the lawsuit states, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"Pete can only speculate as to the reasons why 1501 has taken this new position," it continues. "But the intended result of its actions is clear: 1501 wants to tie Pete down to release more albums under the contract to the financial benefit of 1501."
The lawsuit further states that "1501's new position, taken months after the album's release, is clearly a ruse in an effort to try to take further advantage of [Megan], at great expense and not in good faith," according to BBC.
This is not the first time Megan Thee Stallion has had conflict with her record label.
In 2020 she filed a lawsuit against 1501 alleging they were blocking her from releasing new music because she wanted to renegotiate the terms of her contract. She and the label were eventually able to amend the contract terms.