Beyoncé
“Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation”. Beyoncé is being sued by the family of Messy Mya, a New Orleans rapper, for using his voice in the beginning of her “Formation” song without permission. When you watch her music video, you can hear the voice of a male saying, “What happened at the New Orleans… I’m back. On popular demand”. The “Formation” music video on YouYube has been viewed over 21,000,000 times. You can see the original clip of Messy Mya here.
Messy Mya was fatally shot in 2010. His sister, Angel Barré, claimed that Beyoncé never asked permission or compensated them to sample his voice from his YouTube video. Beyoncé has also used his voice in the introduction of her “Formation” song, during her concert tour last year. Messy Mya’s estate is suing Beyoncé, the music video director, and her music label for copyright infringement for $20 million in damages and royalties!
Always give credit, where credit is due, my friends.
#OwnYourMark #MakeYourMark
Written by: Teresa Nguyen