Juice WRLD was slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit on Monday by former members of Yellowcard.
The rapper, whose real name is Jarad Higgins, is accused of stealing “melodic elements” from the now-defunct rock band’s 2006 song “Holly Wood Died” for his 2018 hit “Lucid Dreams.”
The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges that Juice WRLD’s breakthrough track “directly misappropriates quantitatively and qualitatively important portions” of Yellowcard’s song “in a manner that is easily recognizable to the ordinary observer.”
It claims “Lucid Dreams” is not only “substantially similar to [‘Holly Wood Died’], but in some places virtually identical.”
According to the lawsuit, Juice WRLD once said in an interview that he listened to “emo pop rock” to impress a girl he had a crush on in Grade 5 – which was the same year “Holly Wood Died” was released.
Yellowcard’s William Ryan Key, Peter Michael Mosely, Longineu Warren Parsons and Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin are seeking more than $15 million USD in damages as well as a “running royalty and/or ownership share” of Juice WRLD’s track. They also want revenue from the rap star’s tours, which they allege stem from the “overwhelming success” of “Lucid Dreams.”
Yellowcard played its final show in 2017.
The lawsuit also names co-writer Tax Taylor (aka Danny Lee Snodgress Jr.), producer Nicholas Mira and the song’s publishers and record label. None of the defendants have responded publicly to the allegations, which have not been tested in court.