Beyoncé, Sony Music and others are facing a copyright lawsuit over their hit “Break My Soul,” filed by a New Orleans band that says it sampled a Big Easy rapper who illegally uploaded lyrics from their previous song .
In a complaint filed Wednesday (May 22) in federal court in Louisiana, members of Da Showstoppaz accuse Beyoncé (Beyoncé Knowles Carter) of infringing their 2002 song “Release A Wiggle” in “Break My Soul,” which it spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot. 100 in 2022.
Instead of stealing their material outright, the band alleges that Beyoncé violated their copyright by legally sampling New Orleans rapper Big Freedia's 2014 song “Explode.” This track, they say, illegally borrowed several key lyrics from their song.
“While Ms. Carter … and others have received many accolades and significant earnings … Da Showstoppaz have received nothing — no recognition, no credit, no pay,” the group's lawyers wrote, also naming Big Freedia (Freddie Ross) as defendant.
“Explode” was one of several high-profile samples on “Break My Soul,” which also drew heavily from Robin S.'s house song “Show Me Love.” After the song's release, Big Freedia thanked “Queen Beyoncé” and said she was “honored to be a part of this special moment.”
At the center of the new controversy is the phrase “release yo wiggle” and several related variations, which Da Showstoppaz call “unique phrases” they coined in their song. They say Big Freedia — a well-known rapper in the New Orleans music scene — infringed their copyright by using similar phrases on “Explode.”
“The infringing phrase 'release yo' wiggle' and several other substantially similar phrases appear prominently in the song and are spread evenly throughout Explode's two-minute-and-forty-seven-second duration,” the group's lawyers wrote. “Any reasonable person listening to 'Release A Wiggle' and 'Explode' would conclude that the songs are essentially similar.”
Such claims could face great odds in court. Copyright law doesn't usually protect short, simple phrases, and a court could potentially throw out the case on the grounds that Big Freedia was free to use such lyrics even if The Showstoppaz used them first.
But the group's lawyers aren't worried, saying they “have a copyright to their unique and distinct lyrics” that was clearly infringed by Big Freedia: “The term and coined phrase 'release a/yo wiggle' has now become closely synonymous with the Big Freedia, thereby contributing to Big Freedia's reputation. However, Big Fredia did not compose or write the phrase and Big Freedia never credited Da Showstoppaz as the source.
According to the lawsuit, Da Showstoppaz first learned about Big Freedia's song when they heard “Break My Soul.” They say they notified Beyoncé and others of the alleged infringement last month, but that she refused permission.
Representatives for Beyoncé and Sony Music did not immediately return a request for comment on the allegations.
