MC Lyte’s camp is speaking out against a lawsuit filed by a former independent contractor, Christopher Smith, who claimed he was not compensated for 1,228 hours of work—totaling $38,375.

According to reports, Smith claimed MC Lyte and her entertainment and production firm, Sunni Gyrl, sent him a check for $11,250 but it bounced. Referring to Christopher’s claims as “frivolous” and “a misguided attempt to publicly harasss and intimidate” MC Lyte, an official statement from her team sheds light on what really went down.

The official statement from MC Lyte’s publicist reads as follows:

Christopher Smith was an independent contractor doing illustrations for a development project. Mr. Smith grew impatient during the development process and demanded payment of $6,000; a settlement agreement was reached to compensate Mr. Smith in exchange for a customary transfer of ownership of his work-product, which Mr. Smith signed.

Mr. Smith took half of the settlement payment, then refused to turn over the original files that belong to Sunni Gyrl. A stop payment was placed on the check referenced in the lawsuit, after Mr. Smith failed to produce the files for the illustrations he claims he created. As a measure of good faith, Sunni Gyrl  placed funds into its attorneys’ Client Trust Account with instructions to pay Mr.Smith upon receipt of the files he refuses to release.

Mr. Smith’s frivolous lawsuit is smoke-and-mirrors and a misguided attempt to publicly harasss and intimidate MC Lyte and Sunni Gyrl. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this meritless lawsuit and file a counter claim for the return of our property.

As no further comments were obtained by MC Lyte and her team, we will continue to follow for updates.