Chris Brown Resolves Legal Challenge Tied to ‘Sensational’ and ‘Monalisa’

Chris Brown has reached a settlement in principle with songwriter Steve Chokpelle, who claimed he wrote lyrics for Brown’s songs “Sensation” and “Monalisa,” but did not receive credit or his share of revenues.

The details:

• The settling defendants are Chris Brown Entertainment, LLC, Songs of Universal, Universal Music Publishing, Inc, and Universal Music Group, Inc.

• The settlement resolves all claims against these defendants and removes them from the royalties lawsuit.

• Terms were not disclosed.

• The settlement does not include co-defendant Kisean Paul Anderson (aka Sean Kingston) or his company Time is Money Entertainment, LLC, with claims against them still pending.

• Kingston is currently serving a 42-month prison sentence for fraud.

Chart success:

• A 2022 remix of “Monalisa,” featuring Nigerian artists Lojay and Sarz alongside Brown, reached Number 8 on Billboard’s US Afrobeats Songs chart.

• “Sensational” credited Kingston and Lojay as co-authors, and reached Number One on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

• The lawsuit alleged that the song generated more than $1 million in revenue.