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Former New Orleans bounce group sues Big Freedia, Beyonce over copyright infringement [1]

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Date: 2024-05-22  

A one-time quartet of New Orleans-area bounce musicians are suing Big Freedia and Beyonce for alleged copyright infringement and unfair trade practices over the use of the phrase “release a wiggle.”

The federal copyright suit, filed Wednesday (May 22) in the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans, accuses Big Freedia of poaching the phrase in her 2014 single “Explode.” The plaintiffs claim Freedia took it from a 2002 song called “Release A Wiggle” produced by the New Orleans-area quartet, known as Da Showstoppaz.

Beyonce, who sampled “Explode” in “Break My Soul,” a single from her 2022 album “Renaissance,” is also named as a defendant in the suit. Other writers and producers credited on “Break My Soul,” including the rapper and producer Jay-Z — Beyonce’s husband — are named as defendants, along with assorted companies affiliated with the artists and the making of the two songs.

Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs and Brian Clark, the plaintiffs, were known as Da Showstoppaz, a short-lived group of bounce musicians who came together to record “Release A Wiggle” in an apartment studio in New Orleans East in 2002. The single was featured on a mixtape sold by BlackHouse Entertainment at bounce parties in the city, and “Release A Wiggle” became a local hit at bounce clubs, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs, who are represented by New Orleans-area attorneys Shermin Khan and Abid M. Hussain, argue that Big Freedia and “Explode” producer Adam Pigott, known as BlaqnMilD, would have been aware of the original song because Big Freedia was also affiliated with BlackHouse Entertainment.

“Given Big Freedia’s roots in New Orleans and ties to its bounce scene, and Big Freedia’s association with BlackHouse, any reasonable person could infer that Big Freedia had access to Da Showstoppaz’ ‘Release A Wiggle,’” the complaint reads.

In “Explode,” Big Freedia uses the phrase “release yo’ wiggle” and other “substantively similar phrases” repeatedly, infringing on “Release A Wiggle” a dozen times, plaintiffs argue.

The plaintiffs argue that “release yo wiggle,” as Big Freedia raps it, and the phrasing used by Da Showstoppaz are interchangeable given how they’re said with a New Orleans accent. The complaint claims that the phrases “release a wiggle” and “release ya wiggle” had never been recorded or published in any other song prior to Da Showstoppaz’s “Release A Wiggle.”

Representatives for Beyonce, Jay-Z, Big Freedia and BlaqNmilD did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.

“Release A Wiggle” was uploaded to Youtube in 2014 by Bourgeois, one of Da Showstoppaz, with a description that reads:

“the 1st version of release a wiggle that we recorded for the Blackhouse compilation “fire on the bayou” gees dat was ages ago..maybe 10 years..then they did us the dirt…oh well the music business is wicked especially for a gay, lesbian or transgendered person who don’t know the rite ppl….das life.”

The group applied for and received copyright registrations for sound recording on “Release A Wiggle” in 2022, and the lyrics, melody and music arrangements in 2023, according to the complaint.

Plaintiffs are seeking to be credited on both “Explode” and “Break My Soul,” along with royalties for future uses of both songs and damages tied to profits that Big Freedia and Beyonce have made from the songs.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2024/05/22/bounce-group-lawsuit-big-freedia-beyonce/

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