The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar Sued Over 'Pray for Me'
The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar are facing legal trouble.
Brooklyn-based rock band Yeasayer is suing the singer and rapper over their 2018 collaboration “Pray for Me” from the Black Panther soundtrack.
In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the band alleges the duo lifted material from its 2007 song “Sunrise,” slightly altered it, and used it on “Pray.”
The part allegedly stolen from “Sunrise” is a “distinctive choral performance” the band recorded using their own voices. Yeasayer claims The Weeknd and Kendrick slightly modified it with “intent to conceal the infringement” and used it up to eight different times throughout “Pray for Me.”
Yeasayer says the allegedly stolen material is “immediately recognizable” as theirs. The band is seeking all profits and damages from “Pray for Me.” It also wants an injunction blocking further sales and airplay of the song.
Listen to both tracks below.