French Montana Sued By African Producer, Yo Asel, For Stealing "Lockjaw" Beat

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French Montana at the 2017 BET Awards at Microsoft Square on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
French Montana has some legal issues he got to deal with.

It's been a huge year for French Montana. Between multi platinum singles, a gold album and taking his talents across the globe, he's made himself a household name for the most part. His success this year can be credited to his successful run in 2016. Singles like "No Shopping" and "Lockjaw" helped him put everyone on notice. However, it turns out that the latter of those songs has sparked some legal drama more than a year later.

French Montana is being sued for his Kodak Black-assisted single, "Lockjaw," according to Bossip. The rapper is accused of stealing the "Lockjaw" beat from Morrocon-born producer, Yo Asel. The producer claims that French used and flipped his production for the song and did not give him any proper credit, profit or compensation for it. In the court papers, it says that Asel sent French beats in 2015 via e-mail. After French replied "Send more," Asel assumed French was going to help him get his career off the ground. However, he claims French slightly altered his copyrighted beat before releasing it and Asel says he was shocked to hear it.

The report says he confronted French on social media but French just ended up blocking him. Named in the lawsuit are French's collaborator, Kodak Black, Sony, producer Ben Billions, Bad Boy Records and Cocaine City Records. Asel is asking for money damages, a percentage of profits from the song and an injunction on its distribution for the damages French and co. costed him.

French nor anyone else related to the case has made comment on the suit. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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