You may not be able to break Beyoncé’s soul, but it’s at least about to be tested: She’s currently facing a new lawsuit accusing her of copyright infringement, The Guardian reports.
Beyoncé, Big Freedia, Jay-Z, and Sony Music are named as defendants in the lawsuit, and it’s centered on Freedia’s “Explode,” which is sampled on “Break My Soul.” Da Showstoppaz claim that “Explode” infringes the copyright of their 2002 song “Release A Wiggle”: “Explode” features the phrase “release your wiggle” repeated and that part of the song is sampled on “Break My Soul.”
The suit claims “Explode” used “unique and distinctive lyrics and musical composition” originally from Da Showstoppaz and adds, “Defendants used plaintiffs’ words, melody, and musical arrangement from their copyrighted works. […] Any reasonable person listening to ‘Release A Wiggle’ and ‘Explode’ would conclude that the songs are substantially similar.”
Da Showstoppaz’s Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark are seeking to receive credits on both “Break My Soul” and “Explode,” and are aiming to receive royalties from the songs’ future earnings, along with damages.
Meanwhile, in more positive news for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, both artists made it onto the Apple Music list of the 100 best albums ever that has been blowing up the internet lately. Jay-S has one album on the list and Beyoncé has two, including one in the top 10.
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