Lil Pump, the Florida rapper behind 'Gucci Gang' which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top #100, was signed to record deal with Warner Brothers imprint label Tha Lights Global in June of 2017, a mere two months before his 17th birthday. At first, the deal seemed like a huge success for both parties. After amassing tens of millions of streams on his original uploaded songs via SoundCloud, Lil Pump signed a deal, featuring an advance of $345,000, with a major label, Warner Brothers who were looking to improve their rap and hip-hop roster. However, just a few weeks ago, after releasing a string of very successful singles and a self-titled mixtape which hit #3 on the Billboard 200 under this deal, it was reported that Lil Pump voided his contract with Warner citing certification issues due to the fact that he was a minor when the contract was signed and that the contract was never approved by a Superior Court. While this puts Warner in a horrible position, it leaves Lil Pump free to field offers from other labels for a new deal, some of which are already reaching between $8 - $12 million dollars.

At Common law, minors are considered to lack the capacity necessary to enter into a valid contract and as such they have the unilateral right to void or disaffirm nearly any contract that they enter into. As a limited exception to this, minors can enter into valid contracts for essentials or necessities, such as food and clothing, only when their parents or guardians do not provide them. A minor seeking to disaffirm a contract that falls into this exception is liable for the reasonable value of the necessary goods and services provided to them under the contract.

However, in some states, statutes call for entertainment contracts with minors to be treated in a different manner. This is the case in California where minors consistently contract for jobs in the film, television, and music industries. In California, §6751 of the Family Code holds that a valid entertainment contract which is entered into by a minor and approved by the California Superior Court, cannot be disaffirmed on the basis of the age of the contracting party at the time it was signed. In order for a contract to be approved by a California Superior Court, it must meet certain requirements set forth by the Coogan Act and codified in sections §6752 and §6753 of the Family Code, mainly setting up a designated trust fund for the minor that is made up of 15% of their gross earnings and can only be reached for necessities prior to the date on which the minor turns 18.

If, as reports seem to indicate, Warner did not seek approval for Lil Pump's recording contract in a valid California Superior Court, then they left him with the right to disaffirm the contract for any reason. A costly mistake that Lil Pump is using, combined with his recent success, to leverage a new contract for substantially more money.







