Donald Glover has been accused of copyright infringement over his alter ego’s Grammy-winning hit “This Is America.”
The track is “glaringly similar” to “Made In America,” alleged Emelike Nwosuocha, who performs as rapper Kidd Wes, in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York against Glover and co-writers Young Thug (aka Jeffery Williams) and Lüdwig Goransson.
Nwosuocha said he uploaded his track to SoundCloud in 2016, two years before the release of Gambino’s “This Is America.”
He alleged “the substantial similarities between both songs include, but are not limited to, nearly-identical unique rhythmic, lyrical, and thematic compositional and performance content contained in the chorus — or ‘hook’ — sections that are the centrepieces of both songs.”
Nwosuocha is asking for a jury trial and seeking unspecified damages, including all profits from “This Is America.”
Glover nor any of his co-defendants have yet responded to the lawsuit or commented publicly on the allegations. None of the claims have been proven in court.
When “This Is America” was released in 2018, Glover was accused on social media of ripping off “American Pharaoh” by rapper Jase Harley. At the time, Glover’s manager Fam Udeorji brushed off the claims. “This song is 3 yrs old, and we have pro tools files to prove it,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
Harley, who did not take legal action, said on social media that he was “extremely humbled to be recognized and labeled as one or the original inspirations for one of the most important pieces of music and visual art of our time.”
Listen to both songs below: