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Plies has sued Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, Cardi B, and Soulja Boy, with the rapper accusing the four of sampling his 2008 song “Me & My Goons” without permission.
In the lawsuit, filed in a California Federal Court, Plies claims that Soulja Boy first used an unauthorized sample of “Me & My Goons” on his 2010 song “Pretty Boy Swag.” Fourteen years passed without legal action, but then Soulja authorized a sample of “Pretty Boy Swag” — itself an unauthorized sample of Plies’ song — to feature on Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla’s 2024 hit “Wanna Be.”
Soon after the release of “Wanna Be,” a remix of the song featuring Cardi B — which, allegedly, also sampled “Me & My Goons” without permission, the lawsuit claims — was also released, roping that rapper into the whole litigious fiasco. Additionally, Soulja Boy (and not Plies) was credited as a songwriter on “Wanna Be.”
“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)”],” the lawsuit claims.
“After being made aware of theinfringementthrough communications from Plaintiffs’ legal representatives, the Defendants have failed to take corrective actions, including offering compensation, credit, or otherwiseresolving the matter. TheDefendants’ continued use and exploitation of theInfringing Work constitutes a knowing and intentional violation of thePlaintiffs’ copyright.”
The lawsuit doesn’t specify why Plies waited 14 years to first seek legal action against Soulja Boy; “Pretty Swag Boy” currently has 59 million views on YouTube. Plies is seeking a jury trial as well as an award of actual damages and profits attributable to the contributory infringement.
