Lil Nas X, Cardi B & More Sued For Copyright Infringement Over "Rodeo"

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Lil Nas X and Cardi B perform during Summer Jam 2019 at MetLife Stadium on June 02, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
A pair of producers claim that "Rodeo" is very similar to their owns song.

It looks like Cardi B and Lil Nas X are facing another new lawsuit in their lives. According to Pitchfork, Cardi B, Lil Nas X and the other collaborators involved with their song, "Rodeo" have been sued for copyright infringement.

Two producers hailing from Atlanta, Don Lee and Glen Keith Demeritt III, said that they recorded and released a song called "gwenXdonlee4-142." This song was ultimately used for another song called "Broad Day" PuertoReefa and Sakrite Duexe. However, it doesn't appear that the "Broad Day" collaborators even had the right to use the song. According to the lawsuit, "Broad Day" was “performed, published, and distributed widely, including without limitation in and around the Atlanta hip-hop scene."

Along with Cardi B and Lil Nas X, Take a Daytrip, Sony Music Entertainment and others have been listed as defendants in the case. 

They now said that "Rodeo" and "Broad Day" are eerily similar, accusing Lil Nas X of not receiving "permission from Plaintiffs to interpolate, sample, use, or copy the Work." They added that Cardi and Lil Nas X "created an unauthorized copy and/or derivative work from Plaintiffs’ original material.”

The plaintiffs brought out technicalities to prove their point. The plaintiffs said both songs use similar sounds -- from the instruments to the drum beat -- and used a 4-measure structure that used E, F, G, F, E progression. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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