21 Savage is facing a new federal lawsuit from a European promoter who claims the rapper’s team took a $150,000 deposit for a tour that never happened and never gave the money back.
In a civil complaint filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Dutch company J. Noah B.V., which does business as J-Noah Entertainment, accuses 21 Savage, his Slaughter Gang LLC and several members of his business team of breach of contract, fraud and other claims over a stalled European run dating back to 2019.
The suit says the money was supposed to lock in at least 10 shows on the continent, excluding London, between August and December of that year.
According to the filing, J-Noah says it wired a $150,000 “binder” payment on March 20, 2019, after receiving an invoice from 21 Savage’s then-representatives, Girls Do It Better LLC and manager Kei Henderson, along with YB Talent Agency, which is also named in the suit.
The complaint says the cash was meant to be held in escrow or trust while the parties finished out the full tour paperwork, and that it had to be refunded within five days if the deal fell apart.
The tour hit a wall when 21 Savage allegedly could not secure a valid passport, the promoter claims.
J-Noah says both sides agreed to pause the tour plans while the immigration issue played out and put the refund requirement on hold, with the understanding that they would lock in new dates once the paperwork came through.
From 2019 through 2023, the promoter says it stayed in touch with 21’s camp, waiting for word that he was clear to travel and perform the shows.
During that stretch, the complaint claims, the rapper’s team kept offering “one excuse after another” about why he still did not have his passport and continued to stall on either moving forward with the tour or sending the money back.
The situation allegedly blew up in late 2023. J-Noah says he learned for the first time in mid-October 2023 that 21 Savage had already secured his passport and had gone ahead and booked a different European tour with another promoter.
The Dutch company calls that a “material breach” of their agreement and says it never got a single show in return for its $150,000.
On October 20, 2023, J-Noah’s European lawyer sent what is described as an “urgent notice” to 21 Savage, Slaughter Gang, Henderson, Girls Do It Better, YB Talent and Yusaf Ahmad Babar, demanding the full refund within five days under the terms of the artist binder agreement.
The suit says the money still hasn’t been returned, despite repeated demands and even alleged promises from representatives to pay the balance down in $10,000 monthly installments.
Instead, the complaint claims all of the defendants “shared in the $150,000 windfall,” never properly placed it in an escrow or trust account and were “unjustly enriched” while J-Noah was left unable to book another headliner in that slot.
The promoter says it lost both its deposit and the profits it expected from a 21 Savage tour or from a replacement act.
J-Noah is suing for at least $150,000 in compensatory damages, plus additional consequential and incidental damages for alleged lost profits, and is also asking for punitive damages over what it calls “outrageous” and “reckless” conduct by 21 Savage and his team.
The complaint includes claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and more, and demands a jury trial.
21 Savage faces a federal lawsuit from a Dutch promoter alleging he kept a $150,000 deposit for a canceled 2019 European tour
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