Chance the Rapper is being sued by his former manager Pat Corcoran, whom he quietly fired this year, for $3 million over allegedly unpaid commissions.
In court documents obtained by Complex and first reported by Complete Music Update, Corcoran alleges Chance ignored his professional advice and blamed him for the tepid response to his 2019 album The Big Day. He also claims Chance blamed him for less-than-stellar ticket sales and refused to pay commissions that were owed after firing him in April of this year. "Upon information and belief, the commisssions owed by CTR, Cool Pop Merch and CTR Touring to PTM in connection with the above are in excess of $3 million," reads the lawsuit.
The suit also sees Corcoran detail how he helped Chance achieve success despite the artist's refusal to work in the traditional record label system. The two allegedly maintained a healthy working relationship until early 2019, at which point the rapper had announced The Big Day, dubbed his debut album after three mixtapes, would drop in July. Corcoran was not consulted on the release date. "Given the significant amount of work, care and attention needed to produce an album, Corcoran expressed serious concern with the projected release date [Chance] had unilaterally announced for the album," the filing reads.
The timeline appeared unrealistic to Corcoran, especially as Chance was getting married in the middle of the recording sessions, which he called "unproductive and undisciplined." While The Big Day did receive a bit of critical acclaim, the response was decidely lukewarm in comparison to his previous output. Corcoran's lawyers asserted the nature of the studio sessions resulted in a "freestyle-driven product of sub-par quality."
Chance announced a tour last year, which he later postponed and then canceled entirely, supposedly due to low ticket sales. Corcoran has argued this was due to Chance continually ignoring his advice, and letting his father and brother, Ken and Taylor Bennett, manage his business affairs instead.
"Instead of acknowledging the numerous distractions and artistic compromises that inevitably resulted from time wasted in the studio, all of which contributed to a lacklustre album evidenced by historically low ticket sales, Bennett ultimately blamed Corcoran for the judgement rendered by his fanbase rather than accept that his own lack of dedication had doomed the project," reads the lawsuit. "Despite months of outreach and efforts at reconciliation, Bennett has refused to pay Corcoran the amounts Corcoran is fairly owed under the parties’ long-standing agreement and well-settled course of conduct."
In a statement provided to Complex, Chance's legal team said Pat's complaint mostly "consists of self-serving and fabricated allegations that are wholly unrelated to Mr. Corcoran's claim for commissions." The statement in full reads:
"Mr. Corcoran has filed a suit for allegedly unpaid commissions. In fact, Mr. Corcoran has been paid all of the commissions to which he is legally entitled. Most of the complaint consists of self-serving and fabricated allegations that are wholly unrelated to Mr. Corcoran's claim for commissions and were plainly included in a calculated attempt to seek attention. Those allegations are wholly without merit, are grossly offensive and we will respond to them within the context of the litigation."
