Childish Gambino, real name Donald Glover, is allegedly being sued, as reported by TMZ, by a rapper who goes by the name Kidd Wess. He claims Gambino ripped off his track Made In America, which he says was created two years prior to Gambino’s This Is America.
Kidd Wess, real name Emeloke Nwosuocha, has acussed Gambino of using the chorus or the hook of arguably his most famous songs. He says it is ‘unmistaknly substantially similar, if not practically identical,’ to his lesser known song.
Nwosuocha claims that he created Made In America on the music site Soundcloud, back in September 2016, with the video being freely available to watch on YouTube just a couple of months after.
He alleges the song was registered with the US Copyright Office in May 2017, and he had intended for it to be the standout and lead single on his upcoming album.
Glover’s incredibly successful, This Is America, which deals with the institutional racism in America, was released to critical acclaim and international success in 2018, even taking home the Grammy for the prestigious Record of the Year.
TMZ has said that court documents saw Nwosuocha claimed that Gambino’s ‘flow’ has a striking resemblance to his own. He highlights several lyrics in This Is America, which bare a supposed resemblance to the hook refrain in This Is America.
As an example, he noted that, ‘Made in America / Flex on the radio / Made me a terrorist / Pessimistic n***as / You should just cherish this’, sounds quite similar to ‘This is America / Guns in my area / I got the strap / I gotta carry ’em’.
Nwosuocha has claimed that the likeness between the two songs, as the timing of their release, is no accidental coincidence.
Feeling betrayed and like has been ripped off, Nwosuocha is now seeking major legal damages. Not only is he suing Glover himself, but he is reportedly also suing the co writers of the song, the records labels associated, and both Young Thug and Roc Nation, who provided backup vocals.
This is not the only accusation of plagiarism for Glover. Back in 2018, several listeners argued that This Is America had notable similarities to American Pharoah by Jase Harley.
In response, Harley remarked that although Glover had been influenced by American Pharaoh, he had no real problem with it.
Gambino’s manager at the time, Fam Rothstein, denied all accusations of plagiarism in a tweet which had since been deleted.
Glover has not yet made a public comment over the allegations against him.
What do you make of the whole ordeal? Take a listen to both songs and decide for yourself. And if you need a little help with your musical expertise, check this out.
