Who is Lefty Gunplay? Music analyst Brian Zisook claims rapper has not earned any profits from his feature on Kendrick Lamar's "tv Off"

Artist advocate and cofounder of Audiomack, Brian Zisook took to X to allege that Lefty Gunplay had not earned publishing royalties after collaborating with Kendrick Lamar on his tv off track, which is part of K. Dot’s latest GNX album. Lefty Gunplay has since taken to social media to address the allegations.

Brian Zisook took to X on February 16 to allege that Lefty Gunplay was unable to gain money in royalties as he was not registered with PRO. He also explained that U.S. songwriters have three years to claim the royalties and beyond the stipulated time, “the funds are distributed among major publishers.” Zisook said on X:

“Lefty Gunplay isn’t registered with a PRO, meaning he isn’t collecting publishing royalties for “tv off” or any other song in his catalog.”

On February 17, Zisook took to the social networking site to report that “various associates” told him that Lefty was now “signed up with BMI,” which should help him gain access to the royalties.

Lefty, whose real name is Franklin Holladay, is a Los Angeles-based rapper who gained immense recognition following his feature on tv off. Holladay has released four albums, including Rookie of the Year, Famous Gangbanger, PreSeason and Most Valuable Gangbanger.

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Lefty Gunplay takes to X to address the tv off allegations

The 28-year-old rapper took to X on February 17 to respond to the viral X thread which had amassed over three million views at the time of writing this article. Holladay wrote:

“PUBLISHER LEFTY GUNPLAY OTR IPI #: 1256524061 WRITER/ COMPOSER HOLLADAY FRANKLIN SCOTT IPI #: 1261145289”

The Spin the Block rapper seemingly indicated that he was signed with PRO.

Creative director MIke Chehade, who goes by the username ChehadeTheKing on X also took to the social networking site to state that business related to the tv off track was not “finalized yet.” He added:

“We appreciate K. Dot for the opportunity! Just business that’s all.”

Lefty, who signed to OTR Records last year, spent time behind bars for nine years after discharging a firearm at a party when he was 18 years old.

After being released, he began releasing music, including the single Spin the Block. Speaking about the impact prison time had on him, he said in an interview with Passion Weiss:

“I think it made me better. If I could start from scratch, I wouldn’t change sh*t. I grew up in there. I learned how to be a man in there. I learned a lot of basic things. I learned how to shave, how to shake a hand properly, how to speak with older people, eye contact, body language. I would read philosophy. I’m learning every day.”

While speaking to Passion Weiss, the Baldwin Park rapper revealed that he was raised in a Latino community through his Guatemalan mother and grandmother and did not have any father figure in his life.

It is worth mentioning that the rapper is half- Caucasian as well, with his father being from Mississippi.

Speaking about his life prior to making music, he said in the interview:

"My mom was struggling, and we were broke as f**k living in this mobile home park. When I was a kid, I used to be embarrassed to bring my homies over to sleepover because my house was small. I was always in trouble and in and out of juvenile hall. That’s when I started gang banging. I was looking for that father figure, that role model. I found it in my hood."

Following his collaboration with Kendrick Lamar for tv off, Lefty’s streaming numbers increased by 84%. He now boasts over 640,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Kendrick Lamar and Lefty Gunplay’s tv off track has now sold two million units in the U.S. The song also peaked in second place on the Billboard Hot 100.

Brian Zisook had not responded to Lefty’s tweet at the time of writing this article.