DaBaby has been accused of ripping off an earlier song on his 2020 Roddy Ricch guesting hit 'Rockstar'.
According to Rolling Stone, Florida-based producer Craig Mims - who performs as JuJu Beats - claims that 'Rockstar' is a rip off of his track 'Selena'.
DaBaby and his collaborators had a copy of the earlier track, Mims' lawsuit states, because he had been in touch with the rapper's representatives - as well as Caroline Diaz at his label, Universal Music's Interscope - back in 2019.
“Plaintiff provided his musical composition known as 'Selena' to defendants in 2019", the lawsuit says, "who then used 'Selena' to create a sound recording entitled ‘Rockstar'. Defendant Diaz and DaBaby’s representative accessed plaintiff’s 'Selena' on more than 40 occasions in late 2019 and early 2020".
Mims adds that he has sought to negotiate a settlement regarding his song-theft claim with DaBaby and his label numerous times, but without success. "Such efforts were unsuccessful due to defendants’ unwillingness to cooperate or accept responsibility for blatant and wilful copyright infringement", the lawsuit goes on.
“It is unfortunate that these types of situations occur almost daily within the music industry", Mims’ lawyer, Bradley Eiseman, told Rolling Stone earlier this week. "The unequal balance of power and money in the industry is sometimes used to silence the real individuals who truly deserve a piece of the action and money".
“It is too easy for the labels and mainstream artists and producers to cut out the ones who really matter the most", he added. "It is disheartening because there is enough money in the industry to change everyone’s lives but the money usually ends up in the hands of the few".
We await DaBaby's response.