Recording artist Plies has filed a lawsuit against four fellow rappers who he claims used an unauthorized sample of his 2008 song, “Me & My Goons.”
According to Rolling Stone, Algernod Lanier Washington, aka Plies, has filed paperwork against Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, Cardi B, and Soulja Boy. The suit was filed in a California Federal Court where Plies accuses Soulja Boy of illegally sampling “Me & My Goons” for his 2010 song “Pretty Boy Swag.” In turn, Megan Stallion and GloRilla used the “Pretty Boy Swag” sample authorized by Soulja Boy for their 2024 song, “Wanna Be” which sets them up to be included in the lawsuit. Cardi B was added because she was on the remix of the song.
The lawsuit states, “The Plaintiffs never granted any license, permission, or authorization to the Defendants to use any portion of the Copyrighted Material in [“Pretty Boy Swag”], [“Wanna Be”], nor [“Wanna Be (Remix)”].”
“After being made aware of the infringement through communications from Plaintiffs’ legal representatives, the Defendants have failed to take corrective actions, including offering compensation, credit, or otherwise resolving the matter. The Defendants’ continued use and exploitation of the Infringing Work constitutes a knowing and intentional violation of the Plaintiffs’ copyright.”
Plies attorney, Walter Mosley, Esq., spoke to TMZ on Nov. 7 to discuss the reason the lawsuit was filed.
Mosley placed the blame on lawyers after stating that Soulja Boy has never denied sampling the song but he found it “convenient” that during negotiations the attorneys denied that. Yet, he stated that a musicologist confirmed that “Pretty Boy Swag” used a sample from “Me & My Goons.” Mosley also defended the accusations of Plies filing a lawsuit against Black women, which he said that TMZ
reported when discussing the suit.“My communication is directed to the labels, the record labels, the people that actually own the music. The artists are wonderful, wonderful artists. This isn’t an attack against any of the artists. This is just a matter of revenue that was made by major companies and major companies were supposed to split that revenue amongst the shareholders.”
He assured the media outlet that the lawsuit is not based on color or gender and this has been in the works for about six to eight months before the announcement was made. He also mentioned that Plies supports Black women and wanted the press to know that this lawsuit is not an attack against Black women, but in making sure business is taken care of.
Plies has also been very vocal in his support for Vice President Kamala Harris during the election cycle.
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