R&B Producer Sues for Slander

By Stephen M. Silverman

11/28/1997 at 12:00 AM EST

R&B producer Teddy Riley has filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against former Blackstreet member Chauncey Hannibal, claiming that the musician defamed him on MTV when Hannibal played a rap song ("Shame on You") that says that Riley stole from him. Riley, who filed his suit in a Virginia Beach court, also wants a court order to stop the song from being played. Hannibal, meanwhile, told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper that his song does not refer to Riley.