The Lemonade icon, now pregnant with twins, stole the copyrighted
material from bounce music star Messy Mya — whose real name was Anthony
Barré — without providing credit or compensation to the slain singer’s
estate, a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Louisiana claims.
The suit says Beyoncé lifted Barré’s voice and words from his protected
works “A 27 Piece Huh?” and “Booking the Hoes from New Wildings.”
“They are the defining introduction of the song ‘Formation’ and the
seed from which the entire song grows,” the paperwork states.
“There should be no doubt that Anthony Barré’s unique, gravelly voice,
cadence and words were sampled by defendants,” the lawsuit argues.
Barré is described in the filing as a highly recognizable New Orleans artist, DJ and YouTube star.
“He was very famous for the line, ‘Follow me camera,’ as he traversed
the City of New Orleans and traveled deeply into the gay, lesbian and
transgender communities,” the lawsuit claims.
Multiple news outlets and music websites cited the sampling of Barré’s
work after “Formation” dropped in coordination with Beyoncé's
performance at last year’s Super Bowl.
Barré was a mainstay of the bounce music phenomenon — an energetic form of New Orleans hip hop.
While Beyoncé and her publishing partners “have received many accolades
and substantial profits from ‘Formation’ and the ‘Lemonade’ album and
video … Mr. Barré’s estate has received nothing — no acknowledgment, no
credit, no remuneration of any kind,” the lawsuit claims.
Attempts to reach a Beyoncé rep were not immediately successful Tuesday.
Barré’s estate claims she ignored its initial “amicable” attempt to make contact over the alleged infringement.
It’s now seeking damages topping $20 million.
Barré was only 22 when he was gunned down in November 2010 as he reportedly left a baby shower.
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