Bad Boy Chiller Crew: Rap group sue record label over royalties

British rap group Bad Boy Chiller Crew have lodged a legal claim against their record label at the High Court, saying they are owed about £400,000 in unpaid royalties.

The Bradford trio are known for their high-energy bassline anthems, and were nominated for the Brit Award for best group last year.

They say they had “no other option” but to take court action against the House Anxiety label, which signed the group in 2020 and released their Full Wack No Breaks mixtape that year.

In response, House Anxiety said they “totally refute these claims” and welcomed the chance to “clarify these inaccuracies”.

Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s claim says they were supposed to have been given royalty statements by the label every six months, but only received their first one in October 2024.

That royalty statement had “vast sums” wrongly deducted, and did not include £217,000 that House Anxiety had received in a licensing deal with a subsidiary of major label Sony, the band argue.

The claim says the group can’t accurately calculate how much they are owed until they receive a full set of accounts. But they believe it will amount to at least £400,000.

The group also argue their contract with House Anxiety has ended.

They independently released a new single and an EP in June, but removed both from Spotify after House Anxiety complained it was a breach of their contract.

In a statement to the BBC, Bad Boy Chiller Crew said: “Like all other bands, we don’t look for litigation, but when faced with a label that won’t let us put our own music out ourselves for our fans and not pay us royalties owed from our own music, we felt we had no other option.”

House Anxiety founder Jaimie Hodgson said: “We totally refute these claims and welcome the opportunity to clarify these inaccuracies.

“As an artist-friendly independent label, we remain hugely proud of every element of Full Wack No Breaks and all the hard work that went into its campaign, then stepping aside to allow BBCC to pursue their dreams of being a major label artist. There will be no further comment at this time.”

Full Wack No Breaks included the band’s breakthrough track 450.

The follow-up, Disrespectful, reached number two in the UK album chart in 2022 under the licensing deal with Sony’s Relentless label.

That album included the top 10 single BMW, and the group also starred in their own ITV2 reality show in 2021.