Chris Brown Sued Over Alleged Exclusion From ‘Sensational’ And ‘Monalisa’ Royalties

Lyricist Steve Chokpelle sues Chris Brown, claiming he was cut out of royalties for two hit songs.

Chris Brown is facing a federal lawsuit from songwriter Steve Chokpelle, also known as Muse, who alleges he co-wrote two of the R&B star’s hit songs but has not received any royalties.

Chokpelle filed the complaint on Wednesday (Feb. 4), claiming he wrote the lyrics for “Sensational,” a track from Brown’s 2023 album 11:11, which topped Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also says he wrote the 2022 song “Monalisa,” a collaboration between Brown, Lojay and Sarz, which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs and No. 38 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart.

“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,’” the lawsuit reads. “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.”

According to the lawsuit, Chokpelle wrote the “Monalisa” lyrics during a 2020 session with Brown and singer Sean Kingston at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California. He alleges he was not credited on the song and “never received any compensation despite ‘Monalisa’s’ commercial success.”

Chokpelle also claims he penned the lyrics for “Sensational” in 2023 alongside producer Onyekachi Emenalo, known as Krazytunez, and later shared the song with Brown. While Chokpelle is listed as a composer on the track’s credits, he says he was intentionally left off the copyright registration and has received “no revenues whatsoever.”

The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring Chokpelle an author and co-copyright owner of both songs, as well as at least $1 million in damages for unjust enrichment and fraud claims against Brown, Kingston, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).