Rita Ora has sued Jay Z‘s Roc Nation, the label that signed her in 2008 when she was just 16-years-old, citing the fact that the contract she signed violates California law.
Furthermore, in the complaint, which was filed this morning in a Los Angeles Superior Court, cites Roc Nation’s diversifying of its interests–TIDAL, Roc Nation Sports, D’usse, and clothing–as one of the reasons Ora she feels that she no longer has a relationship with the label. “Rita’s remaining supporters at the label left or moved on to other activities, to the point where she no longer had a relationship with anyone at the company.”
A California Labor Code commonly referred to as “The Seven Year Rule” states that artists cannot be “subject to a contract to perform personal services beyond seven years from the beginning of the deal,” this according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is this code that Ora cites in her complaint, which also describes Ora’s situation with the Roc as a “political quagmire of dysfunction.”
Since signing in 2008, the England native has experienced considerable success overseas, notching two UK #1 singles and several Gold plaques, but her American success has been limited, as only two of the songs she’s released have cracked the Billboard Hot 100.