A scene from Beyonce’s “Formation” music video.
Summary: The estate of rapper Messy Mya claim Beyonce illegally sampled Messy Mya’s lyrics for the hit song, “Formation.”
Beyonce’s legal team better get in Formation. The popular singer has found herself in a legal mess centering around her controversial hit “Formation,” and if she loses, she potentially could pay up to $20 million in damages, according to Celeb Dirty Laundry.
The estate of Youtube rapper Messy Mya accused Beyonce of stealing Messy Mya’s lyrics to use in “Formation.” The estate is suing Beyonce, her husband and producer Jay-Z, and her label Sony.
Messy Mya was murdered in 2010, but his music can still be found on Youtube. His family said that Beyonce sampled from his video called “A 27 Piece Huh” as well as from his song “Booking the Hoes from New Wildings.” In “Formation,” Messy Mya, real name Anthony Barre, can be heard saying,“What happened at the New Orleans / B*** I’m back, by popular demand.”
Messy Mya’s family allegedly tried to contact Beyonce and her team to discuss the matter before the lawsuit was filed. They claim that they were ignored, and they are now seeking royalties to the song as well as damages for stealing the rapper’s words and voice.
This is not the only controversy surrounding the first single from the album “Lemonade.” Last year, Beyonce performed it at Super Bowl 50 dressed as a member of the African-American rights group, The Black Panthers. Fans rejoiced that she was making a positive statement about the political group, Black Lives Matters, while critics viewed the song and imagery as being anti-police.
Source: Celeb Dirty Laundry
Photo courtesy of NPR
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