After calling it quits last December, Yeasayer have made headlines for suing the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, alleging that their collaborative Black Panther soundtrack single "Pray for Me" illegally samples the band's 2007 song "Sunrise."
The lawsuit, filed in New York court today, alleges that Lamar and the Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) altered a sample from "Sunrise" with "intent to conceal the infringement."
The sample in question, according the lawsuit, is "a distinct choral performance" that finds the band members "singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato" that was "developed via distinctive audio post-processing."
Yeasayer claim the allegedly stolen sample is "immediately recognizable."
You can hear both "Pray for Me" and "Sunrise" in the players below.
It isn't the first time the Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack has been subject to a lawsuit. In February 2018, it was alleged that the video for album cut "All the Stars" ripped off work by British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor without permission. The suit was settled in December that same year.
The Weeknd is set to deliver new album After Hours next month and has also mapped out a massive tour behind it. Kendrick Lamar is set to headline Montreal's Osheaga festival this summer.
The lawsuit, filed in New York court today, alleges that Lamar and the Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) altered a sample from "Sunrise" with "intent to conceal the infringement."
The sample in question, according the lawsuit, is "a distinct choral performance" that finds the band members "singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato" that was "developed via distinctive audio post-processing."
Yeasayer claim the allegedly stolen sample is "immediately recognizable."
You can hear both "Pray for Me" and "Sunrise" in the players below.
It isn't the first time the Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack has been subject to a lawsuit. In February 2018, it was alleged that the video for album cut "All the Stars" ripped off work by British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor without permission. The suit was settled in December that same year.
The Weeknd is set to deliver new album After Hours next month and has also mapped out a massive tour behind it. Kendrick Lamar is set to headline Montreal's Osheaga festival this summer.
