Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Big Freedia are being sued by a former New Orleans-based group for copyright infringement involving the use of the phrase “release a wiggle.”
According to the federal copyright complaint filed May 22 in the Eastern District of Louisiana, the bounce group that once performed under the name “Da Showstoppaz” accuses Big Freedia of illegally using the three-word phrase in his 2014 song “Explode.”
In the lawsuit, four members of the group – Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs and Brian Clark – claim that Big Freedia took the phrase from the 2002 single “Release A Wiggle” that they produced. The song was featured on a mixtape sold by BlackHouse Entertainment.
The complaint alleges that “Explode” infringes on Da Showstoppaz’s “Release A Wiggle” twelve times, as the infringing phrase “release yo wiggle” and several other substantially similar phrases feature prominently in the song and are distributed evenly throughout both furious with Explode. -minute and forty-seven seconds Any reasonable person listening to “Release A Wiggle” and “Explode” would conclude that the songs are substantially similar.
As fans know, Beyoncé sampled Big Freedia’s song “Explode” on her hit “Break My Soul,” from her 2022 seventh studio album “Renaissance.”
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The “Ya Ya” singer’s name was added to the lawsuit along with other writers and producers credited on the album, including Beyoncé’s husband and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. Companies affiliated with the release of both songs are also named as defendants.
The suit claims: “Da Showstoppaz owns a copyright in his unique and distinctive lyrics and musical composition, “Release A Wiggle.” Big Freedia was given access to “Release A Wiggle,” which was then sampled by Ms. Carter’s “Break My Soul.” Therefore, by copying “Release A Wiggle” into “Explode”, Big Freedia violated the copyright of Da Showstoppaz.
The group is seeking to be credited on “Explode” and “Break My Soul” and to receive royalties for future uses of the two songs and damages in relation to the profits made by Big Freedia and Beyoncé for the songs, as well as for the singer’s corresponding tour. and the film “Renaissance: A Beyoncé Film”.
The USA TODAY Network has reached out to Beyoncé’s camp for comment.
