Chicago rapper Lucki, real name Lucki Camel Jr., is involved in a very messy court fight with EMPIRE, an indie music distributor from San Francisco. On October 22, 2025, EMPIRE filed a federal lawsuit against him in the Northern District of California, claiming he broke their 2019 deal by dropping his new single “Not So Virgo of You” on his own through a rival platform.
It all goes back to that 2019 recording and distribution agreement. EMPIRE says they shelled out nearly $10 million in advances to Lucki, locking in exclusive rights to his music until at least 2026. The deal was a straight 50/50 split on profits, with EMPIRE able to pull marketing costs and other expenses right out of Lucki’s cut something his team now calls way too limiting and out of touch with today’s standards.
A tweet from X.
Lucki, who hails from Chicago and was born on May 30, 1996, first made waves in the underground hip-hop scene with his 2013 mixtape Alternative Trap. His sound blends melodic trap beats with raw, introspective lyrics, and it’s paid off with albums like Flawless Like Me (which hit No. 12 on the Billboard 200) and Sx Mney Drgs (No. 15). Teaming up with EMPIRE in 2019 gave him more muscle for promotion, but it’s also led to this growing tension as he’s pushed for more independence.
According to EMPIRE, Lucki’s move to release “Not So Virgo of You” on October 1, 2025, via UnitedMasters was a direct slap at their exclusivity rules. UnitedMasters, founded by Steve Stoute in 2017, is all about empowering artists to go direct to streaming services and brands without the middleman. EMPIRE also accuses Lucki’s lawyer of sneaking a termination notice into some random legal paperwork back in July 2025, calling it a sneaky way to dodge an automatic renewal clause.
On top of that, EMPIRE says Lucki hasn’t delivered on the albums he owed under a 2024 extension to the contract, which called for three more projects after his Gemini album. They’ve pointed to $600,000 in recording session payouts as evidence they’re still deeply involved. After the single dropped, EMPIRE fired off takedown requests, yanking it from spots like Spotify and YouTube.
Now, they’re asking the court for an injunction to stop any more unauthorized releases, plus damages and a confirmation that they own the rights to Lucki’s masters.
Lucki’s camp is firing back, arguing the whole contract is overly harsh and doesn’t stack up against what’s normal in the industry these days. They say artists should be keeping 80-85% of profits after expenses, not splitting everything down the middle while the label dips into their share for marketing. “It’s just not fair,” one statement from his side put it bluntly, as they fight to cut ties completely.
Fans online are rallying around Lucki, with X buzzing about support posts and funny memes poking at the drama. He’s even hinted at a new album called Drugs R Bad, though no release date’s set while this mess plays out.
This whole thing highlights the bigger shifts happening in hip-hop, where artists are ditching rigid deals for more flexible indie options. Reports from 2025 show a spike in disputes like this, with more creators going solo in a streaming world that’s all about control. EMPIRE, started by Ghazi Shami in 2010 and home to big names like Kendrick Lamar and XXXTentacion, has dealt with similar beefs before like the contract headaches with 21 Savage over exclusivity and how costs get recouped.
Industry watchers say whatever happens here could shake up how deals get negotiated, especially around who controls the masters in this streaming-heavy era.
At its core, the Lucki-EMPIRE clash is a sign of the times artists fighting back against outdated contracts to grab more creative freedom and a bigger piece of the pie. The outcome might set the tone for how up-and-coming rappers approach labels from here on out.
