Drake and Chris Brown are again embroiled in legal trouble over copyright infringement claims related to their 2019 hit No Guidance.
Artists Tykeiya Dore and Marc Stephens have filed a lawsuit, seeking at least $5 million in damages, claiming the song borrows heavily from their 2016 track I Got It.
Filed in New Jersey, the lawsuit alleges that Chris Brown, Drake, and their songwriting collaborators lifted not only the core lyric from I Got It, changing it from “I got it” to “You got it,” but also emulated the original’s chord progressions, tempo, key, melody, harmony, and lyrical structure. According to the plaintiffs, the similarities are strikingly obvious, with one comparison video on YouTube previously highlighting the parallels before it was taken down.
In addition to Brown and Drake, the lawsuit lists co-writers Velous, Nija Charles, and Michee Lebrun as defendants and producers Noah “40” Shebib, Vinylz, J-Louis, and Teddy Walton. Brown’s label, RCA Records, and several associated music publishers are also named in the lawsuit.
Central to the case is how No Guidance allegedly came to the attention of those involved in its creation. The suit claims that Vinylz, one of the song’s producers, encountered I Got It on Benji Filmz’ YouTube channel, while Nija Charles reportedly received a copy through a family connection to Dore.
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Dore’s uncle, Jesse Spruils, allegedly confronted Charles after No Guidance was released, accusing her of borrowing elements from ‘I Got It.’ However, Spruils reportedly chose not to inform Dore initially, feeling embarrassed and concerned about potential backlash.
In a rare legal twist, the lawsuit also demands damages from YouTube and its parent companies, Alphabet and Google, for alleged defamation. The plaintiffs assert that after Stephens filed a copyright takedown notice for No Guidance, YouTube deleted his channel, raising doubts about the legitimacy of his takedown request. Following a threat of legal action, YouTube restored Stephens’ channel two months later.
This lawsuit marks the second copyright-related claim against No Guidance in recent years. A previous lawsuit filed in 2021 by artists Braindon Cooper and Timothy Valentine claimed that the song copied elements from their track ‘I Love Your Dress.’ That case, where Drake was later dismissed, ended in a confidential settlement in 2022.
