Donald Glover Wins ‘This Is America’ Lawsuit Against Kidd Wes On A Technicality After Fellow Rapper Claimed He Stole The Hit Song 

Donald Glover Wins ‘This Is America’ Lawsuit Against Kidd Wes On A Technicality After Fellow Rapper Claimed He Stole The Hit Song

Rapper/producer Donald Glover is “swarming” with yet another win.

As previously reported, back in 2021, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) was sued for allegedly stealing his Grammy-winning hit “This Is America” from an artist by the name of Kidd Wes.

Donald Glover

According to Kidd Wes (born Emelike Wesley Nwosuocha), Donald Glover robbed the flow of the chart-topping hit from his 2016 song, “Made In America,” which was supposedly copyrighted in May 2017–a year before the release of the “Atlanta” creator’s track.

Kidd Wes’ lawsuit read that Glover’s “This Is America” was “unmistakably substantially similar” and “practically identical.”

In “This Is America,” Glover raps,

“This is America / Guns in my area / I got the strap / I gotta carry ’em.”

Wes, who claimed the musical direction of the lyrics seemed to relate, raps during “Made In America,”

“Made in America / Flex on the radio / Made me a terrorist / Pessimistic n*ggas / You should just cherish this.”

Kidd Wes

Ultimately, Wes sued everyone behind the production and distribution of Glover’s song, including Roc Nation and fellow lyricist Young Thug, who sang the background vocals on the record.

In new documents, obtained by AllHipHop, the 39-year-old was said to have beat Wes’ plagiarism accusations against him, based on a technicality.

Reportedly, proceedings in regard to Wes’ copyright claim were faulty, as the artist failed to properly register the music itself, instead of just the “Made In America” recording. According to the courts, Wes only held one copyright certificate, which didn’t protect the song in its entirety.

When speaking of the legalities of the situation, Judge Marrero said,

“Even if [Kidd Wes] had a copyright registration for the composition of [Donald Glover’s] composition, however, dismissal would be warranted here because the elements of [Glover’s] composition purportedly infringed upon are insufficiently original to warrant protection, or because they are not substantially similar to the Challenged Composition.”

In addition to Judge Marrero’s words, the ruling stated,

“[Kidd Wes’] arguments that he possesses a copyright registration for the composition of Planitiff’s Composition are without merit.”

As of now, there have been no official statements from Kidd Wes or Donald Glover regarding Glover’s victory.

Do you think Kidd Wes and Donald Glover’s songs sound alike? Let us know in the comments below!

Authored by: Ashley Blackwell