#Chance the Rapper’s Ex-Manager Sues for Millions, Trashes The Big Day

Chance the Rapper’s former manager Pat Corcoran (aka Pat the Manager) is suing the rapper for a breach of contract, Complete Music Update reports. The complaint, viewed by Pitchfork, was filed in an Illinois court on November 30. In the lawsuit, Corcoran and his lawyers allege that Chance has violated an oral agreement, wherein he agreed to pay Corcoran 15% of his net profits. Corcoran also claims that he’s owed “over $2.5 million of unreimbursed expenses supporting and promoting Bennett’s career.”

According to the lawsuit, Pat Corcoran and Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, began working together in May 2012 when they agreed that they “could profit from the music industry independently… and set out to transform Bennett’s music into a global brand.”

In 2013, Corcoran and his lawyers claim, Chance and Corcoran entered into the agreement that would pay Corcoran 15% of net profits from merchandise, tours and concerts, mixtape and album streams and sales, branding deals and endorsements, and film and TV ventures. The agreement was allegedly honored until April 2020 when Chance notified Corcoran that he was “terminating [his] engagement of Pat Corcoran and all entities controlled by Pat Corcoran.”

Corcoran alleges that he is owed over $3 million for commissions due to the streaming and sales of 10 Day, Acid Rap, and The Big Day, as well as proceeds from Live Nation Touring and commissions related to Chance’s participation in Season 2 of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow.

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In the lawsuit, Pat Corcoran also claims that Chance the Rapper fired him and replaced him with his father Ken and brother Taylor Bennett due to “fan disappointment in Bennett’s most recent album [The Big Day] and underwhelming fan support for its associated tour.” Corcoran and Chance’s relationship apparently began to fissure when Chance, in February 2019, announced a July release date for his debut album. The lawsuit reads:

Having enjoyed repeated success with the release of his first three mixtapes—10 Day, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book—Bennett announced on February 11, 2019 (without consulting with or giving advance notice to Corcoran) that he would release his first studio album in July of that year. Given the significant amount of work, care, and attention needed to produce an album, Corcoran expressed serious concern with the projected release date Bennett had unilaterally announced for the album. Corcoran knew that in view of the commitments Bennett had in early 2019—including his own wedding—it was likely there was not enough time for the creative process that was involved in releasing an album, and Corcoran advised Bennett in that regard.

Corcoran opposed announcing the release of any album before the recording or writing process even began, let alone was substantially completed. Compounding the issue, Bennett’s recording efforts were compromised by unproductive and undisciplined studio sessions. Procrastination and lackadaisical effort, perpetuated by various hangers-on uninterested in the hard work of writing and recording, resulted in a freestyle-driven product of sub-par quality, a complete deviation from the meticulous writing process that brought Bennett fame for his wordplay and wit.

Later, Corcoran acknowledges that The Big Day “was panned by many influential critics” and calls the album Chance’s “least popular project to date.” In addition, Corcoran says it was his idea for Chance to postpone his tour, which allegedly had “low ticket sales and poor attendance projections,” to “use the time to regroup and refocus.” The tour was ultimately canceled.

The lawsuit states:

Instead of acknowledging the numerous distractions and artistic compromises that inevitably resulted from the time wasted in the studio, all of which contributed to a lackluster album evidenced by historically low ticket sales, Bennett ultimately blamed Corcoran for the judgment rendered by his fan base rather than accept that his own lack of dedication had doomed the project.

Corcoran also says he recommended Chance “step away from the public and regroup” instead of performing on Ellen, Good Morning America, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Corcoran claims that the TV appearances “only forced Bennett to publicly address his album’s shortcomings, rather than generate excitement about a newly-released album, which is what such appearances are calculated to do. These appearances served only to further exacerbate the failure of The Big Day.”

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Pitchfork has reached out to Chance the Rapper’s representatives, as well as Pat Corcoran and his legal team.