As Megan Thee Stallion vs. Carl Crawford / 1501 Entertainment chugs along as both file motion after motion and fight over depositions, I want to have a lil pow-wow about the album dispute.
While I still believe Megan Thee Stallion will win the monetary aspect of the lawsuit, the definition of an "album" and the album requirements remains a tricky issue in this case.
Allow me to think out loud...
According to Carl Crawford's response to Megan's revised motion to the court, he alleges that her "albums" must be released 10.5 months apart, as specified in her revised contract. So, let's take a closer look at the release dates of both albums. Megan dropped "Something For Thee Hotties" (SFTH) on October 29th, 2021, followed by 'Traumazine' on August 12th, 2022. This falls about a month short of the claimed 10.5-month requirement to classify a project as an album. So the question up in the air is: if 'Something For Thee Hotties' (SFTH) is declared an album, will "Traumazine" be automatically disqualified from fulfilling Megan's contractual obligations?
Uhhhhggg...
But wait, there's another crucial element to this story—the leaks. Remember, when 'Traumazine' was released earlier than planned due to these leaks, Megan Thee Stallion wasted no time reporting the incident to the courts and pointing her perfectly manicured finger at 1501 Entertainment. The leaks were not just an inconvenience; they were an attempt to hinder Megan from fulfilling her contract. This adds a new layer to the puzzle. While I assumed that Carl "Milk Dud Headass" Crawford would argue that 'Traumazine' does not qualify as an "album" because it doesn't consist of unreleased music due to those leaks, similar to his stance on 'SFTH,' the true intent of the leaks was to exploit the 10.5-month window.
Now, Megan's issue is the inability to directly link Carl Crawford or anyone at 1501 Entertainment to these leaks. Consequently, this allegation may not hold up in court. Even if Megan wins and 'Something For Thee Hotties' is counted as an album, 1501 Entertainment could legitimately argue against considering 'Traumazine' as fulfilling her album obligations. It puts Megan in a lose-lose situation, as she would still be compelled to deliver another album to Carl Crawford and his money pit of a label, 1501 Entertainment. Had the leaks not occurred, she would have undoubtedly met the 10.5-month requirement.
"I hope Megan has scrapped songs ready to go, just in case, because a lot of coincidences went in Carl's favor the other week. First, there was a document already prepared to give 1501 a victory, and somehow that document got in front of a judge, who apparently, does not read motions before signing them and whose clerk just so happened to upload it to the court's website." - FckYaya
Considering the bigger picture, the battle over money, including royalties and publishing, holds greater significance in this lawsuit. As I mentioned in my previous article, "I Didn't Tell Megan Thee Stallion To Be Spiteful, I Told Her To Be Like Nas," Megan Thee Stallion has options regarding this album mess. She has already met the 10.5-month requirement, and I have confidence that she has over 40 minutes of scrapped tracks that she can give to 1501. If she does not feel like doing the throwaway track thingy, she could create an album that addresses this situation or venture into autotune and "poopity scoop" herself through a project. Regardless of her approach, Megan should be prepared for anything come the August trial and have a project ready to turn in to Carl Crawford right after the verdict if it does not go in her favor. I do not see anything that says she must promote or do photoshoots for her projects. Just turn in the music and let him worry about promotion.
Stay ready so you ain't got to get ready.
Updates:
Megan's team filed a motion to compel Kelsey's husband, Darien Smith, to sit for a deposition.
Carl Crawford filed a motion to push the trial back again.
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