(EXCLUSIVE) Kendrick Lamar Settles Legal Battle Accusing Him of Stealing Music

The complaint stated,

“The Thorn” is a hard swinging track featuring an extremely distinctive and catchy hook that is the refrain of the song. The recording is infectiously rhythmic with clever melodic triplets throughout the hook played expertly by a tight rhythm section and commanding horns.

The musicians claimed they never gave Kendrick permission to use their song, however they accuse him of using it in his song “Rigamortus,” which was a track on Lamar’s debut album,”Section.80″.

The producers noted that “The Thorn” is not merely a part of “Rigamortus” or even the heart of “Rigamortus” — it is “Rigamortus”. The songwriters said that the lyrics in the song are the only thing NOT stolen from them. Reed and Jones claimed that Kendrick then had the audacity to register his song with the Copyright Office claiming he composed it.

Jones also states that his family member — Jazz legend Clifford Brown — contacted him in 2011 asking his thoughts of letting him use some of his music for a hip hop artist. Jones responded that they should talk about it more in detail, but they never did and he says Brown used it without permission.

The musicians sued Kendrick for 1 million dollars, all royalties made and an injunction against the rapper from continuing to distribute the song. Kendrick never filed a response to the allegations in the lawsuit.

Then on September 17th, docs were filed by the plaintiffs which state they are dismissing the entire case along with all claims against Kendrick and the record labels. The case was closed the same day. The dismissal makes it clear that Kendrick reached an agreement with the plaintiffs to settle the case.

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