Remy Ma and Fat Joe’s pockets are staying all the way up after their recent court victory.
The New York rappers have been embroiled in a lawsuit for the past two years, alleging that they defrauded Eric A. Elliot, the co-producer of their 2016 hit “All The Way Up,” of rightful remuneration and ownership rights. However, just a few days into the new year, a federal judge ruled with the rappers, stating that not only was recompense paid, but that any ownership rights were forfeited at the time.
Elliot claimed he contacted the Terror Squad leader in order to receive compensation and credit for his contributions to the record, and that they agreed to meet at a Miami IHOP, where Fat Joe had him sign a document before writing a check for $5,000, with the promise of more money as the record grew larger — but more money never came.
In 2015, rapper Infrared and Fly Havana rap alias Elliot worked on the track, according to Elliot. Despite the fact that the record was still unfinished, Elliot claims he delivered it to Infrared, who then introduced him to Fat Joe. Until the next year, when he heard it blaring on every radio station as the spring and summer’s street song, Elliot learned that the track had not made it any further, at least not until the following year.
Elliot claimed he contacted the Terror Squad leader in order to receive compensation and credit for his contributions to the record, and that they agreed to meet at a Miami IHOP, where Fat Joe had him sign a document before writing a check for $5,000, with the promise of more money as the record grew larger — but more money never came.
Though Elliot objected to the $5,000 he received two years ago, Judge Buchwald made it clear that he would not be entitled to any additional payments in the future. “Even if Elliott tries, he cannot escape the contract’s explicit and plain language that Elliott will not be compensated,” the judge ruled. “Any purported claims about future or additional pay are directly opposed to the contract’s stated and unambiguous terms.”
In addition to rapper French Montana, the track hit at number 27 on the Billboard “Hot 100” list, drawing the attention of Jay-Z, who appeared on the remix. When it comes to people taking credit for the hit album, though, the tale develops swiftly. Cool and Dre, the record’s producers, spoke with Billboard in 2017 about how the project came to be.
“We had the beat sitting for a little bit and then we had a session with Joe. Joe had been coming to the studio and he was like, ‘Play me some new vibes.’ We played him the joint, and Joe was like, ‘That’s it right there,’ ” Cool recalled. “We just thought it was a hot joint. Joe definitely heard something that we didn’t hear in the beginning process. Then, once we heard he hooked up with Infared and they put the hook on it, me and Dre were still kinda like, ‘I don’t know, man.’ ”
“He [Joe] knows when he hears a hit,” Dre continued. He was enthralled by the hook when he first heard it. For the record [2017 Song of the Year], the production pair would receive Grammy nominations, along with Fat Joe, Remy Ma, French Montana, and Infrared for Best Rap Performance. “He was like, “This is going to be bigger than Lean Back.”
