What were the allegations against Snoop Dogg? Complete drama explained as rapper settles copyright lawsuit

Snoop Dogg "Iz It A Crime" Movie Album Screening - Source: Getty
Snoop Dogg "Iz It A Crime" Movie Album Screening (Source: Getty)

Snoop Dogg has reached a settlement with veteran studio musician and producer Trevor Lawrence Jr. after he sued the rapper for allegedly using two backing tracks on his 2022 album BODR, without a licensing agreement.

A report in Hot New Hip Hop stated that he filed a lawsuit against Dogg and Death Row Records, alleging in his lawsuit that he failed to clear backing tracks for two songs from his album, BODR, which included, Pop Pop and Get this d*ck.

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BET Awards 2025 - Show - Source: Getty

According to the complaint, Lawrence created these two tracks “on spec,” and gave them to Snoop Dogg in 2020, to “experiment” in the studio. He alleged that he released these two tracks as NFTs without permission and generated millions of dollars in profits from it.

Now, the two parties have reached an agreement in the copyright lawsuit over the alleged use of Lawrence’s backing tracks by Dogg. The case was scheduled to go to trial this September. Here is what we know.


What do we know about the settlement between Snoop Dogg and Trevor Lawrence Jr. ?

On June 24, 2025, both Snoop Dogg and Trevor Lawrence Jr. filed a joint motion to dismiss their litigation, per a report in Billboard. This was reportedly done with the help of a mediator in April. However, details of the settlement have not been revealed.

Frank Trechsel, an attorney for Trevor Lawrence Jr. stated that he won’t be able to discuss in detail about his client, but added:

“Our client is happy to have resolved the dispute.”
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FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - Atletico de Madrid v Botafogo: Group B - Source: Getty

Lawrence, a well-known drummer and producer, has reportedly worked with artists such as Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar. In his lawsuit, he named Death Row Records as a defendant and stated:

“To date, defendants have refused to properly license the Lawrence tracks or compensate Lawrence for their use in the Broadus tracks.”

Previously, when Lawrence filed the lawsuit against him, Snoop Dogg and his legal team denied any wrongdoing in the case. The rapper alleged in his lawsuit, that he and Lawrence exchanged a deal in which Lawrence was paid $20,000 as a “producer fee” before the release of BODR.

According to Hot New Hip Hop, Dogg’s legal team stated in their filing in December:

“If Lawrence is entitled to any monies from defendants, it is the agreed-upon producer royalties offset against the $20,000 that he was already paid.”

In their filing, the rapper’s attorneys also called out Lawrence for seeking a “preposterous windfall” of millions of dollars.

A report in Law Commentary stated that a similar lawsuit was filed in 2020 in which Tracy Chapman accused Nicki Minaj of illegally sampling one of her songs. In their case, the judge overruled that while artists are free to experiment with materials in the studio, they violate copyrights if those songs are released in the market. The case was eventually settled with Minaj paying Chapman $450,000.

Edited by Sarah Nazamuddin Harniswala