Beyonce is receiving her good news and bad news these days, it seems.
The singer, who announced that she’s pregnant with twins last week, has now been hit with a $20 million lawsuit over claims that she improperly used the voice of an up-and-coming rapper and YouTube personality in her hit song “Formation.”
In the suit, filed in federal court in Louisiana, the estate of Anthony Barre — aka rapper Messy Mya — claims that “Formation” used Barre’s voice without authorization.
“Defendants used Mr. Barre’s voice, performance and words from his copyrighted works to create the tone, mood, setting and location of the New Orleans-themed ‘Formation,’” the lawsuit reads.
New Orleans-based Barre was shot and killed in 2010.
The suit claims that the suit has “received nothing” from the alleged use of his voice — “no acknowledgment, no credit no remuneration of any kind.”
According to the suit, “Formation” misappropriated the lyrics “What happened at the New Orleans” and “Bitch, I’m back by popular demand” from Barre’s 2010 work “Booking the Hoes From New Wildings.” The suit also claims that the line “Oh yeah baby. I like that” from his “A 27-Piece Huh?” was wrongfully lifted.
Alleging copyright infringement and other counts, the suit is seeking damages “believed to exceed $20 million.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.