UPDATE (Dec. 4):
A rep from Chance The Rapper's legal team provided a statement to XXL this evening on the pending lawsuit.
"Mr. Corcoran has filed a suit for allegedly unpaid commissions," the statement reads. "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."
ORIGINAL STORY:
Chance The Rapper is facing a big-time lawsuit from his longtime manager.
According to court documents, obtained by XXL on Friday (Dec. 4), Chance's former manager, Pat The Manager, whose real name is Pat Corcoran, filed a legal complaint against the rapper in the State of Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County on Nov. 30. Corcoran accuses his former client of breach of contract, unjust enrichment—unreimbursed expenses—and violation of the Illinois Sales Representative Act.
Corcoran is suing Chance The Rapper in excess of $3 million.
Chance and Corcoran had been working in tandem since 2012, prior to the Chicago rhymer catapulting to stardom. However, things reportedly changed after the release of Chano's The Big Day album in 2019. Corcoran claims that Chance disregarded his professional advice and also blamed him for the lack of success of the effort.
The documents state that "following fan disappointment in Bennett's [Chance The Rapper] most recent album and underwhelming fan support for its associated tour, Bennett replaced Corcoran with Ken and Taylor Bennett, his father and brother, and now refused to honor the terms of his agreement with Corcoran."
As a result, Corcoran is suing Chance The Rapper for "compensatory damages and exemplary damages for breach of their agreement, related violations of the Illinois Sales Representative Act," as well as for attorney fees incurred from filing the lawsuit.
Chance and Corcoran's manager-artist relationship dates back to May of 2012, when the two decided to embark on a music journey together without the use of a major record label's help. Corcoran assisted with venue selection for performances, publicity and public relations, negotiating deals, managing finances and more.
The two agreed to a deal back in 2013, where Corcoran would receive 15 percent of the net profits that Chance obtained from merchandise, tours and concerts, mixtapes and album sales as well as streams, brand deals and endorsements, film and TV ventures and more. This also included the exclusive 2016 release of Coloring Book to Apple Music. Additionally, the docs note that Chance The Rapper initially offered 10 percent gross of his earnings, but Corcoran agreed to 15 percent net to ensure the rapper's financial success and avoid stunting his career trajectory.
The documents also state that Pat The Manager has incurred over $2.5 million in unreimbursed expenses throughout the time he supported Chance's rap career.
Things, however, took a turn in 2019, when Chance The Rapper announced the release of his first studio album, The Big Day, without informing his manager prior to. According to the documents, Corcoran opposed announcing the effort before the writing process for it even began. Nonetheless, Chance ignored his manager's advice and dropped the LP on July 26, 2019. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart, but quickly plummeted weeks after. A tour expected to gross between $25 and $35 million in support of the album was also supposed to launch, but was ultimately postponed due to low ticket sales and poor attendance projections.
Corcoran was terminated from his role as Chance's manager on Apr. 27, 2020, despite attempts to reconcile with the rapper. He lists in the documents that he is owed commissions to streaming sales of Chance's 10 Day and Acid Rap mixtapes, tour earnings from Live Nation Touring, streaming and sales from The Big Day, commissions from Netflix's season two of Rhythm + Flow, which Chance hosted, and more. However, Chance was only willing to give Pat a lump sum of $350,000.
XXL has reached out to Pat Corcoran's legal team and a rep for Chance The Rapper.
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