Tag Archives: The Weeknd

The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar are getting sued by Yeasayer

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Image: Pitchfork

Just read this Pitchfork post that now-defunct Brooklyn-based band Yeasayer is suing the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar for what seems to be one tremolo-like vocalization. Am I missing something here?

Yeasayer have sued Kendrick Lamar and the Weeknd over the Black Panther soundtrack single “Pray For Me,” TMZ reports and documents viewed by Pitchfork confirm. The band claims in the lawsuit that “Pray For Me” infringes on their All Hour Cymbals song “Sunrise.”

The band claims that “Pray For Me” features a “distinctive choral performance” from “Sunrise”—“male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato.” Yeasayer are seeking profits from “Pray For Me” and damages. Find the full lawsuit below. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Kendrick, the Weeknd, and Yeasayer. – Pitchfork.com

I’ve pulled out the vocal sound that I think this lawsuit is about.

Here are the full songs:

The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar – “Pray For Me” (2018)

The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar - Pray For Me (Official Lyric Video)

Yeasayer – “Sunrise” (2007)

Here is the court filing:

See Also:

Did the Weeknd rip off this song for “A Lonely Night”?

 

Did the Weeknd rip off this song for “A Lonely Night”?

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According to the news The Weeknd might be in a bit of trouble for his song “A Lonely Night”. It apparently sounds a bit too much like the work of a track called “I Need to Love” by three U.K.-based songwriters.

The Blast reports that Abel’s [The Weeknd] track is almost identical to their song, “I Need To Love.” As their case goes, a division of Universal Music acquired the rights to their song in 2008 after pitching it to artists around the world but in 2018 the label relinquished all the rights. Weeks later, The Weeknd dropped off his album and the trio knew something was up. They are suing for unspecified damages including $150,000 per infringement and “forensic accounting to figure out just how much they’re owed.”

Have a listen!

The Weeknd - "A Lonely Night" (2016)
Williams Smith, Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch - "I Need to Love" (2008)