Beyonce’s Use of Rapper Messy Mya’s Voice in Her Song “Formation” Is Justified, Lawyers Say
Earlier this year, the estate of the late Anthony Barre, more popularly known by his YouTube/rap persona alias, Messy Mya, filed a $20 million lawsuit against Beyoncé for using a portion of the late rapper's voice for her hit Lemonade single, "Formation." The thing is, Bey isn't going for it.
According to the folks at TMZ, the Queen Bey's lawyers claim that the vocal sample she used—totaling just six-seconds in length—was so small that Barre's estate doesn't deserve compensation. Beyoncé's lawyers deem the use of Barre's vocals to be "reasonable and justified."
The sample in question comes from a video of Barre speaking to a woman on the street, telling her, "I like that." That sample is used in "Formation." Barre, who was known for his inflammatory YouTube videos, was shot and killed in New Orleans seven years ago and upon the release of "Formation" about a year-and-a-half ago, his YouTube views grew exponentially.
There's no telling whether or not the court will buy Beyoncé's claim, but it doesn't seem all that likely this case will go away any time soon. We'll just have to wait to find out what happens next.
Check out the original video featuring Barre's voice below. Check out the moment his voice pops up in "Formation" in the video beneath that.
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