Miami bass built half of Southern rap, and it rarely got paid for it. A group from that era is trying to change that in court.
## The filing Van and Patrick Watler of Home Team filed Watler et al v. Mauldin et al in the Southern District of Florida on September 21, per HotNewHipHop. They say lyrics and musical elements from their 1992 song "Pick It Up," released on Luther Campbell's Luke Records on the album Via Satellite from Saturn, were copied on the 2023 Jermaine Dupri and Jacquees track with the same title. Mass Appeal Media, which released the 2023 song, is also named.
## What they want More than $150,000 in damages, writer credit, a share of publishing, a full accounting of what the 2023 song earned, and an injunction. Dupri and Jacquees haven't responded publicly, and nothing has been ruled on. For now these are allegations.
## Why the credit matters more than the check $150K is small by major-label standards. The credit and publishing share is what matters. Writer credit is permanent: every stream, sync and radio play pays out for as long as the copyright lasts. For a Miami bass group whose songs were sampled, reworked and borrowed for thirty years, getting their names on the 2023 song is the real win.
JD built So So Def on Southern bounce, so this is a case of one Southern institution facing an older one. Luke Records was fighting for rap's right to exist in the '90s, in court. Now its artists are going to court over who owns the music.
## What happens next Copyright suits like this usually end in a settlement and a credit update long before a jury hears them. If a new credit shows up on the 2023 song, that means Home Team won.
## Sources - HotNewHipHop, Sept. 23, 2026: Jermaine Dupri & Jacquees hit with $150K copyright lawsuit - U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida: Watler et al v. Mauldin et al, filed Sept. 21, 2026