Cardi B settles years-long legal battle with ex-manager: ‘Feels good to be free’
Klenord 'Shaft' Raphael sued Cardi in spring of 2018, claiming he was the reason for the rapper's sudden success.
It seems Christmas gifts truly do come in all shapes and sizes. This Christmas Eve, Cardi B settled her years-long legal battle with her former manager.
Cardi’s dispute with Klenord “Shaft” Raphael began in April 2018, when he sued the rapper for $10 million. Shaft claimed he was the reason for Cardi’s sudden success, insisting he was the one who discovered her, that he got her on Love & Hip Hop on VH1, and his team made her hit single “Bodak Yellow” for her.
According to TMZ, Shaft — who is listed as an official co-writer in the “Bodak Yellow” credits — was “disappointed by her actions to freeze him out of her career.”
Cardi countersued Shaft for $15 million in July of that same year, claiming her initial contract with him was not standard or fair to the rapper and that Shaft allegedly tried to get a 20-percent cut from Cardi’s earnings and, eventually, 50 percent from her Sony publishing deal. Cardi even claimed Shaft was trying to dictate her personal life, not just her career, going as far as to control “who she should and should not see romantically.”
Read More: Cardi B, Offset celebrate birthday with large, maskless party
Now, as of Thursday, Dec. 24, the lawsuit is “hereby dismissed in its entirety with prejudice against all parties,” according to Pitchfork, whose staffer viewed the official documents. Per the music site, the documents state, “the parties have further agreed that all parties to this action shall bear their own costs and attorney’s fees.”
Read More: Cardi B hit with lawsuit papers on the set of her new Netflix series
Cardi took to Twitter to express her relief that the nearly-three-year legal battle finally came to a close. Sharing a tweet by @girlsinrap, she wrote: “Feels good to be free.”
As 2020 winds down, Cardi is getting some special attention after having a landmark year.
Her hit song, “WAP,” featuring fellow rapstress Megan Thee Stallion, broke countless records and is currently being hailed as “Song of the Year” by multiple publications.
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