Chance the Rapper faces off with former manager in court amid years-long legal battle
Chance the Rapper’s big day came on Tuesday as he took the stand to testify in a jury trial stemming from a five-plus-year legal battle with his former manager, which has put a spotlight on independent artist-manager partnerships and the risks of verbal contracts.
At the heart of the dispute are Pat Corcoran’s claims that he is owed $3 million by the hip-hop star, born Chancelor Bennett, in unpaid commissions after he was let go from his managerial role in 2020. According to Corcoran (AKA Pat The Manager), the two had a “sunset clause” in place that entitled him to royalties for a period of three years post-termination, although the two former friends famously operated on a handshake deal with no written contract that defined the terms of their working arrangement.
“We never described it as a contract until he sued me. We had an at-will agreement that didn’t address termination,” Bennett testified in Cook County Circuit at the Daley Center as his parents, including father Ken Bennett, who now acts as one of his managers, looked on.
“We moved that way forever. We never discussed the sunset clause, we just discussed how I’d pay him. And one thing that stayed consistent is that I paid him his 15% [in net proceeds]. … I kept paying him that 15%,” the rapper said. “I can’t think of one situation where he did meaningful work and I didn’t pay him.”
Pat Corcoran, Chance the Rapper’s former manager, and his attorneys walk into the Circuit Court of Cook County at the Daley Center in the Loop on Tuesday. According to Corcoran (AKA Pat The Manager), the two had a “sunset clause” in place that entitled him to royalties for a period of three years post-termination, although the two former friends famously operated on a handshake deal with no written contract that defined the terms of their working arrangement.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Bennett testified his total payout to Corcoran in the time they worked together — from 2012 to 2020 — was $11 million, claiming he was “definitely the person that got paid the most” on the payroll of his company, Chance the Rapper LLC.
In another bit of surprising testimony, Bennett said “I probably should have fired him [sooner],” noting that some of Corcoran’s alleged business tactics around 2017 and 2018 made him “question his loyalty.”
Both Corcoran and Bennett declined to comment through their legal teams. The trial started March 4.
The legal battle has shed light on the dismantling of one of the music industry’s most successful examples of an independent artist-manager partnership that existed without any record label deals or corporate interference.
Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, testified Tuesday that his total payout to former manager Pat Corcoran in the time they worked together — from 2012 to 2020 — was $11 million, claiming he was “definitely the person that got paid the most” on the payroll of his company, Chance the Rapper LLC.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
It “reimagined and forever changed musical artists’ ability to control their careers,” Corcoran alleged in his lawsuit. It was filed in November 2020, seven months after he was terminated . Bennett unsuccessfully attempted to have the case dismissed and, in 2021, countersued, seeking damages of more than $1 million, alleging breach of duty. He claimed Corcoran acted in his own self-interest to acquire business deals that affected the rapper’s career. That case has yet to go to trial.
As shared in the proceedings Tuesday, the dissolution of the partnership largely came about after Corcoran and Bennett could not come to terms on how to promote Bennett’s critically panned 2019 album “The Big Day.” Corcoran alleges in the lawsuit that “fan disappointment” and low ticket sales for the accompanying tour led to him being let go and replaced by Bennett’s father and brother, fellow recording artist Taylor Bennett. Corcoran wanted the rapper to step back and regroup, including pulling his 2019-2020 tour (which was eventually canceled), while Ken and Taylor pushed for Chance to do a full national media blitz.
“My dad was trying to get me in front of people, and Pat’s idea was for me not to be in front of people,” Bennett testified.
Corcoran’s attorneys' questioning of Bennett took up most of the day Tuesday, as they pressed him on the fact that their client’s business acumen and maneuvers behind viral mixtapes like “Acid Rap” and “Coloring Book” led to Bennett’s success, netting him three Grammys, sold-out arena tours and lucrative merchandising deals that continued to keep the artist afloat even after Corcoran was let go.
Further, Corcoran's legal team argued, some of Bennett’s own choices, sometimes against Corcoran’s recommendations, have had a lasting effect, pointing to a six-year-delay in albums and lower than anticipated returns on ticket sales for his “Star Line” tour last fall.
Among Bennett's mistakes, they suggested, were canceling a 2016 European tour, missteps with entrepreneur and Radio One owner Cathy Hughes and missing out on 2019’s Splendour in the Grass festival in Australia (which is closely associated with the Lollapalooza team).
The trial continues Wednesday.