A lawsuit against Beyoncé and Sony Music over Renaissance‘s lead single “Break My Soul” has been dropped. On Thursday, the copyright lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed several months after members of bounce group Da Showstoppaz sued the singer for allegedly using their 2002 song “Release a Wiggle” without credit, per the filing obtained by Bloomberg Law.
In the original filing, the group alleged that Beyoncé sampled Big Freedia’s 2014 track “Explode,” which they claimed illegally used “copyrighted lyrics, melody, and musical arrangement” from “Release a Wiggle.” Da Showstoppaz claimed Beyoncé legally sampled Freedia’s song, but claimed that that song took from “Release a Wiggle.”
The court filing did not mention a settlement agreement and the case may have simply been dropped. Reps for Beyoncé and Da Showstoppaz did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
In the original lawsuit, Da Showstoppaz asked to be credited and for compensation rights on both “Break My Soul” and Big Freedia’s “Explode,” as well as royalties for future licenses.
The group’s memebers Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark also accused Beyoncé of using the group’s “words, melody, and musical arrangement from their copyrighted works to create an album as homage to ‘uncle Johnny’ who exposed the music and culture of the LGBTQ community of greater New Orleans.”
Along with Beyoncé and Sony Music, Jay-Z and Big Freedia, and others were also named as defendants.
“Break My Soul” was the lead single for Queen Bey’s Renaissance, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022. On Renaissance, Beyoncé worked with musicians such as Skrillex, Honey Dijon, Big Freedia, Drake, Tems, and 070 Shake while sampling Kevin Aviance and Memphis rappers Tommy Wright III and Princess Loko’s “Still Pimpin.”
From Rolling Stone US
