Florida rapper Plies has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against fellow emcees Soulja Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, and Cardi B. Per TMZ, the 48-year-old rapper born, Algernod Lanier Washington, claims that the beat for his 2008 song, Me & My Goons, has an infrared countdown that Soulja Boy subsequently used in his 2010 track, Pretty Boy Swag.
Plies, who filed the suit on Wednesday, says that Soulja Boy cannot claim ownership of the infrared countdown because he was the first artist to include it in his beat. The plaintiff also said the same beat was used in Wanna Be – a 2024 song by female rappers GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion.
Cardi B was also named a defendant in the lawsuit because she was featured on the remix of Wanna Be. The other defendants named in the lawsuit include Hot Girl Productions (the music and entertainment company founded by Megan Thee Stallion), Collipark Productions (the record label Soulja Boy was previously signed to), as well as, Universal Music Group, Collective Music Group, and Interscope.
The amount of money Plies is seeking in damages was not disclosed at the time of this report. The 48-year-old filing the lawsuit came after he actively campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris and urged Americans to vote for her.
After several media outlets declared Donald Trump the president-elect following Tuesday’s election, the Shawty rapper took to social media to comfort people disappointed with the outcome.
“If I could hug each and every one of y’all who needed a hug, and let you put your head on my shoulder and let you get off what you needed to get off, God knows I would,” Plies, who released a campaign song for Harris, said in a video posted on Instagram. “I wish I had something big enough so that I could invite whoever wanted to come.. just to check on each other and make sure each other was good and everybody was holding up okay.”
He also said: “Just because the person that you felt should’ve won didn’t make it across the finish line, don’t for a second allow yourself to question your beliefs and what it is that you stand for. Just because the results didn’t go how you forseen them to go, doesn’t mean that you wrong.”
Plies also touched on what Trump’s victory had taught him. “One thing this election did teach me, something that [Trump] knew… character no longer matters. All the dark.. and the things he’s said, he knew people wanted that,” he claimed. “This whole notion of ‘America, this is not who we are,’ no, this is exactly who we are.”
Plies urged people to continue standing for what they believe in. “Again, I’m a firm believer in God don’t make mistakes. And I know at some point in time, He will reveal why this went the way that it did. I want to continue to tell y’all to still stand for the things that you believe in, no different than I believe in,” he said.
