Nigerian disc jockey, DJ Neptune has denied allegations of defrauding rapper and former Big Brother Naija winner, Laycon, over unpaid royalties.
Laycon had publicly accused DJ Neptune in August, claiming he hadn’t received any payment for their 2019 collaboration on the ‘Nobody Icons’ Remix.
Addressing the issue on the ‘Zero Conditions’ podcast, DJ Neptune firmly denied any wrongdoing, stating, “Laycon is my brother, and no one took anyone’s money.”
He explained that when dealing with distribution companies or record labels, funds advanced for marketing and promotions must first be recouped as a return on investment, which is the current situation with the ‘Nobody Icons’ Remix.
DJ Neptune added that Laycon’s main concern was the documentation of the deal, and there was no intent to cheat him.
He noted that the rapper had reached out directly, and he involved his legal team, passing on Laycon’s lawyer’s contact information to them.
The DJ said, “Laycon is my brother regardless. Let me just establish here that nobody ate anybody’s money.
I want to believe that you’ve knowledge of the music business. When you’ve a deal with a distro company or a label and you’re being given advanced marketing money to push the music, the video or whatnot. They’ve to recoup. It’s a return on investment.
“So that’s where we are with ‘Nobody Icons’ Remix’.
“What Laycon is fighting for is the documentation. In all fairness to him, he reached out to me. So it wasn’t like anyone was cheating anyone. When Laycon reached out to me, I referred to my legal team. I even asked him for his lawyer’s contact which he sent to me and I forwarded it to them.
“I’m not a legal personnel. I’m a creative. I have to perform and take care of my family. So I’ve put this in the hands of people that will handle it. And then there was a conversation that was ongoing [between our lawyers].
“So I guess, maybe my own fault was not going back to find out what was going on. But a certain percentage was proposed to Laycon’s team and they kicked back at it. And the conversation was just there.”
DJ Neptune criticized Laycon’s decision to take the matter public, saying it unfairly portrayed him as though he had defrauded the rapper.
KanyiDaily recalls that singer Rema had previously called out DJ Neptune for releasing an old song they did together without following due process or consulting him.
