Beyoncé and JAY-Z are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over Beyoncé’s hit song “Break My Soul” from her acclaimed Renaissance album.
According to legal documents obtained by Baller Alert, the group Da Showstoppaz claims that their 2002 track “Release A Wiggle” was unlawfully sampled in Break My Soul.
Big Freedia, whose song “Explode” is sampled in Beyoncé’s track, is also named in the lawsuit, as this is where the disputed sample originates.
The plaintiffs, Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark, allege that their “unique phrases, melody, and musical arrangement” were used without their permission. They state they were neither credited nor compensated for the sample’s use in Beyoncé’s song. Da Showstoppaz seek unspecified damages, royalties, and proper credit for their work.
Beyoncé’s continues breaking records
Despite this legal challenge, Beyoncé continues to break records and achieve milestones in her career. Her latest album, Cowboy Carter, recently surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, as confirmed by Chart Data. The album, released in March, has been a massive success. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 407,000 equivalent album units sold in its first week. This was the biggest sales week of 2024 at the time, although it has since been surpassed by Taylor Swift’s latest release.
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Cowboy Carter has also significantly impacted the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Twenty-three of the album’s twenty-seven songs charted, bringing Beyoncé’s total number of Billboard Hot 100 entries to 106. She is now the 17th artist and the third woman to achieve this milestone since the Hot 100 was established in 1958.
Among the standout tracks from Cowboy Carter, “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 2, “II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus peaked at No. 6, and Beyoncé’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” climbed to No. 7. Additionally, ten other songs from the album landed in the Top 50, including the Post Malone collaboration “Levii’s Jeans,” “Bodyguard,” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
