South African pop star Tyla is facing a renewed lawsuit from two U.S.-based songwriters who allege they were unfairly cut out of production credit and royalties for her global breakout hit, “Water.”
The song, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023 and won a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, has become the subject of a bitter legal dispute over authorship and compensation.
According to Billboard Pro, songwriters Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro filed the lawsuit on Friday, July 25, against Tyla (Tyla Seethal), British producer Sammy SoSo (Samuel Awuku), and Sony Music Entertainment, the parent company of Tyla’s label Epic Records.
The plaintiffs claim they co-produced the track during a March 2023 session in Los Angeles but were deliberately excluded from production credits and properly negotiated royalties.
This isn’t the first time the duo has filed a lawsuit over “Water.” A similar case was brought earlier this year in March 2025, but it was voluntarily dismissed on Thursday, July 24, before being refiled the next day with new legal representation.
Allegations of Deception and Contract Misrepresentation
Zucca and LoMastro say they collaborated with both SoSo and fellow producer Rayo (Rayan El-Hussein Goufar) during the 2023 studio session. While they are officially credited as co-writers on the final track, the pair allege that SoSo contracted directly with Tyla and claimed sole production credit, all while misleading them into signing what they call an unfair and deceptive royalty agreement.
The contract, they claim, locked them into just 10% each in publishing royalties, compared to 15% for SoSo, and excluded them entirely from producer recognition and fees.
“Although plaintiffs tried for months to resolve the matter with Awuku, Awuku refused to cooperate and, instead, engaged in a pattern of deception designed to conceal his nefarious actions,” the complaint alleges.
Label Meetings and Alleged Concealment from Epic Records
The legal filing also details a May 2024 meeting between Zucca and Epic Records President Ezekiel Lewis, during which Lewis allegedly stated that SoSo had not disclosed the involvement of any co-producers to the label.
Zucca and LoMastro now seek official producer credits on “Water,” a retroactive and future royalty increase to 12.5% each, and a producer fee, standard compensation typically granted to top-line producers on commercial releases.
Potential Earnings at Stake: $50 Million Projection
The complaint estimates that “Water” has already generated over $10 million in revenue and could ultimately surpass \$50 million over time, citing industry trends and the song’s ongoing success.
“Because defendants have refused to recognize plaintiffs’ status as topline producers of the song, and have failed to pay plaintiffs all of the royalties they are owed from the song, plaintiffs have each suffered injury in fact,” the lawsuit states.
As of this writing, representatives for Tyla, SoSo, and Sony Music have not responded to requests for comment.
This case now joins a growing list of high-profile royalty and credit disputes in the music industry, highlighting ongoing tensions around songwriting attribution, production roles, and contractual transparency in the streaming era.
