John Legend facing lawsuit over Debut Album

By The Music Scoop
JR Staff Writer

John Legend rose to fame due to his association with Kanye West, which landed him major collaborations. Before the release of his debut album, The College Dropout, Kanye West created his imprint, G.O.O.D. Music. John Legend was among one of the first artists signed to the label.

G.O.O.D. Music's first year, 2004, was very successful with the release of West's debut and Legend's debut, Get Lifted. Two years later, John Legend released his second album, Once Again, a platinum success. The album featured a track called "Maxine's Interlude."

Five years later, John Legend and the entire G.O.O.D. Music label, are facing a lawsuit over the song. Written by Anthony Stokes, a student at UNC Chapel Hill, Stokes never received proper credit for the song. Stokes claimed he had the lyrics to the song copywritten in 2004. Before he registered the song, Stokes said he attended a John Legend concert.

Upon meeting John Legend backstage, Anthony Stokes presented the singer with his demo and his contact information. With no copyright on the song, apparently John Legend used the song and featured it on his second album. Anthony Stokes is suing G.O.O.D. Music and former distributor, Sony Records, for copyright infringement and unjust enrichment.