Music Stars and Lawsuits

Kendrick, Jay Z, and Kanye are the latest in music lawsuits.

Mattie Music Group vs. Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick Lamar) - Kendrick Lamar’s record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, was struck with a lawsuit in April of 2016 for the use of a Bill Withers sample on Lamar’s record “I Do This.” The Bill Withers sample in question is “Don’t Want You to Stay” and the accusation? Copyright infringement. Yikes! (Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV)
Justin Baker-Rhett vs. Tidal (Jay Z & Kanye West) - “Tidal” in this case refers to Jay Z and Kanye West and Justin Baker-Rhett? Justin is an angry fan who filed a class-action lawsuit against the rapper/moguls. The lawsuit is accusing the artists of misleading Tidal subscribers on the exclusivity of The Life of Pablo for the purpose of getting subscribers to the music service. Well, Kanye did say on his Twitter that TLOP was never going to be on Spotify and Apple music. That quickly dismantled when on April 1st, 2016 the ever-changing album was made available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play.  (Photos from left: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3)
Beyoncé vs. Feyoncé - The land of Beyoncé has some strict commandments: Thou shall not pun without permission. A small Texas company would know, as they were selling T-shirts with the term “Feyoncé” imprinted on them and now they’re being sued. In April 2016, Beyoncé filed a lawsuit in Manhattan, New York, courts claiming that merchandise sold by the company had the intent of connecting the product (Feyoncé) to the worldwide superstar. The kicker in the filed suit was that the company had already been sent cease-and-desist letters from the Bey-Camp and disobeyed strict orders from the Texan Queen. No one messes with Bey. Sorry guys.Check out some more lawsuits that have had us Googling legal terms. — BET Staff and Jon Reyes (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Lil Wayne vs. Universal Music Group and SoundExchange - After making up with Birdman, Lil Wayne's legal troubles are not behind him. On March 28, 2016, the rapper filed a federal lawsuit against Universal Music Group and SoundExchange for owing him over tens of millions of dollars from profit generated from the works of artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga, since he aided in discovering them and signed them to Young Money, a joint venture with Cash Money. UMG has responded by saying the claims are entirely without merit.    (Photo: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Samsung)

Next Gallery

Women's History Month: The Most Iconic Fashion Moments by Black Women

13 Photos

1 / 84

Mattie Music Group vs. Top Dawg Entertainment (Kendrick Lamar) - Kendrick Lamar’s record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, was struck with a lawsuit in April of 2016 for the use of a Bill Withers sample on Lamar’s record “I Do This.” The Bill Withers sample in question is “Don’t Want You to Stay” and the accusation? Copyright infringement. Yikes! (Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MTV)

ADVERTISEMENT