The TDE artist, along with his label and producers, is named in a lawsuit by a musician who claims he created “Loyalty” in 2011.
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In 2011, Hayes alleges that he worked with another musician named Josef Leimberg. In 2015, Leimberg contributed to Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly, and Hayes states that producer Terrace Martin accessed Leimberg’s computer and lifted his song. Additionally, the lawsuit doesn’t only list Lamar; other defendants include Leimberg, Martin, and TDE.
While we have yet to hear Hayes’s alleged version of “Loyalty,” the lawsuit claims the award-winning track was slowed “down through a synthesizer and combined it with another sample to disguise the copying.” Also, “The chord progression of the Infringing Song is identical to the Subject Track progression, with one exception: In measure 3, the Infringing Song progression returns to Am for 3 beats before ascending to Em in an upper octave.”
Hayes is asking for a court to award him all profits amassed from the hit single and any other monies that the those named in the lawsuit have gained from the song. He also wants his legal fees to be covered, as well. We’re looking forward to comparing these tracks in the near future.
[via]