Childish Gambino accused of stealing 'This Is America'

A relatively unknown rapper, Kidd Wes (real name Emelike Wesley), has decided to reignite a lawsuit he and his legal team brought against Childish Gambino in 2021 for copyright infringement of his 2016 single ‘Made In America’, which he claimed was copied by Gambino for ‘This Is America’.

The original case brought before a New York court in 2021 claimed that Gambino’s flow is a copy of Wes’. The latter raps, “Made in America/ Flex on the radio/ Made me a terrorist/ Pessimistic n*ggas?/ You should just cherish this”, while Gambino rhymes, “This is America/ Guns in my area/ I got the strap/ I gotta carry ’em” with a similar cadence.

However, Wesley failed to register the underlying beat of his 2016 song with the US copyright office. As such, the judge believed he had no grounds to sue Gambino (real name Donald Glover).

However, in 2023, Wesley’s attorneys appealed the initial verdict and insisted the failure to register the beat was an “administrative error.” Unfortunately, according to Courthouse News, the judge, Michael Park, was not convinced.

Responding to Wesley’s legal team, Park declared, “He submitted the audio and checked the sound recording on the form. And what he did not do is check the words and music box. If that’s right, how is that not a technicality, as opposed to a substantive failure?”

Kidd Wes is seeking damages from Glover as well as several of the track’s co-writers, including Roc Nation and Young Thug, who provided backup vocals for the song. Although other artists, including Slim Jxmmi of Rae Sremmurd, BlocBoy JB, Quavo of Migos, and 21 Savage, contributed, they were not mentioned in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, to many, appears to be an opportunity for an up-and-coming emcee to make a name for himself and earn some quick cash. However, with the power of Roc Nation behind him, it is unlikely Glover will be paying any damages to Wesley.