A Georgia promoter just learned the hard way that signing contracts with hip-hop artists comes with a hefty price tag.
Federal Judge John Adams ordered Louis Givens and his company ShWKBN reported that aw Management Enterprises will pay Youngstown-based Esmail Entertainment $874,921. The ruling came after Givens failed to respond to a lawsuit filed against him.
The case began in August 2025, when Esmail Entertainment sued Givens for fraud. The company specializes in booking concerts in Northeast Ohio and has trusted Givens to secure major hip-hop talent for the September show at Cleveland’s Wolstein Center.
Givens offered three major artists contracts that looked legitimate. The document is signed by GloRilla, Moneybagg Yo and Skilla Baby for the Cleveland concert.
Esmail Entertainment believed the documents were authentic and wired $282,000 to ensure the performers’ safety.
The company also paid a $10,000 deposit to the Wolstein Center and began selling tickets to fans eager to see the lineup. Everything seemed legal until Givens raised red flags with additional financial demands.
Esmail Entertainment decided to check the pre-order status directly with GloRilla’s production team. That phone call changed everything.
A representative for GloRilla confirmed she had never signed any contract to perform in Cleveland. Her team is actually preparing a cease-and-desist letter against Givens.
Investigation revealed that the signatures of the three artists were completely fake. Court documents show Givens ultimately admitted to forging the contract.
He claimed he wanted to book the real artist before anyone discovered his deception.
Givens returned only $20,000 of the $282,000 he received. The remaining funds disappeared, forcing Esmail Entertainment to cancel the entire concert and refund every ticket holder.
The cancellation is expected to cost the company $2.5 million in potential sales. Fans who purchased tickets hoping to see GloRilla, Skilla Baby and Moneybagg Yo received full refunds instead of the shows they were expecting.
The federal court noted that Givens and Shaw Management were notified of the lawsuit by registered mail in September but never responded. This results in a default judgment, which occurs when a defendant fails to participate in legal proceedings.
Givens and Shaw Management Enterprises are jointly liable for the entire amount of $874,921, according to the ruling. The three hip-hop artists were not named as defendants because they were not involved in the fraud scheme.
