EXCLUSIVE: Home Team Slaps Jermaine Dupri & Jacquees With $150K Lawsuit For Allegedly Stealing “Pick It Up

Jermaine Dupri and Jacquees face a new lawsuit from Home Team, which says their song “Pick It Up” copied parts of its 1992 record. The Florida rap duo also named Mass Appeal Media, the company behind the newer release.

Home Team members Van and Patrick Watler say Dupri and Jacquees used lyrics and music they wrote without asking or paying them. The brothers say they received neither a writer credit nor any share of the money earned from the newer song.

The complaint claims the two songs are so alike that Dupri and Jacquees copied protected parts of the original.

Home Team seeks more than $150,000 in damages, along with writer credits and a share of the song’s publishing income. The duo also wants a full accounting of its earnings and an order to stop sales of the disputed work.

The lawsuit claims the defendants earned hundreds of thousands of dollars through streams, sales, radio play and licensing. The complaint does not provide a detailed breakdown of those earnings, which the Watlers will need to establish in court.

The complaint dates Dupri and Jacquees’ release to September 22, 2023, when its official video appeared.

Home Team’s “Pick It Up” came out July 3, 1992, through Luke Records and included it on Via Satellite from Saturn.

The new case follows a separate $18 million dispute with Sony Music that Dupri and his So So Def companies ended in August. They had accused Sony of hiding or underreporting royalties tied to records by Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat and other artists.

A court notice said the parties resolved that dispute before Sony answered the claims. Neither side disclosed the terms, and the court made no finding that Sony owed Dupri the money he sought.

The Watlers have asked for a jury to decide their case against Dupri, Jacquees and Mass Appeal.