Ronnie Flex doesn’t have much confidence that he will win the appeal against record label Top Notch. “I have a bit of a hard time believing it,” the rapper told the ANP on Thursday after the hearing in the court of appeal in Amsterdam.
The case concerns the contract that the 33-year-old Flex, whose real name is Ronell Plasschaert, had with Top Notch. The musician argues that when entering into the agreement, he had little understanding of matters and therefore did not understand what he was signing. The artist allegedly received too little money from the record label.
Last year, the court ruled that all agreements were clearly stated in the contract. The judge pointed out that the inexperienced Flex was assisted by his then-manager. The musician, who now has his own record label ADF, decided to appeal.
At the hearing of the appeal, Flex said on Thursday that he is mainly bothered by the fact that he has been left with “little to nothing” from the collaboration, while Top Notch does benefit. It is about “the moral” and not just about money.
Flex discovered during his collaboration with Top Notch that his original music recordings are not his property. Furthermore, he believes that his contract ended in 2019. According to the record label, it was in 2020. The rapper, producer and songwriter decided to leave Top Notch after three albums and file a lawsuit.
Flex Turned His Anger Into Protest and Disstracks
In March 2024, Flex staged a protest against Top Notch in Rotterdam, which was attended by dozens of fans. He also released the song Kees Closed, a reference to the record label boss Kees de Koning. A few weeks later, Top Notch responded with the track Pin codes. Flex’s reaction was not long in coming. Within a day he came up with the song Pin code cracked.
In March, Flex told Fidelity that he has since had a good conversation with De Koning. “Recently Kees and I were sitting next to each other on the plane to Suriname. Then we talked about it. The business dispute is still there, but emotionally a lot has changed lately.”
The judgment in the appeal is expected on August 5.