Lil Uzi Vert accused of stealing ‘Just Wanna Rock’ in $110 million lawsuit
Lil Uzi Vert has been sued over their hit single ‘Just Wanna Rock’, with the rapper accused of stealing elements of the song.
A New York artist, known as Rawyal or Rief Rawyal (real name Sharrief K Bouchet), claims Uzi “copied the original hook, melody, and theme” of his track, pointing out the chant, “When I rock ah ah.”
The lawsuit names Lil Uzi Vert, Atlantic Records, Generation Now, Roc Nation, and Warner Music Group as defendants.
According to AllHipHop, a lawsuit was filed in federal court, which included a forensic musicologist’s report that alleged a 93-97% derivation between ‘Just Wanna Rock’ and ‘Pain and Pleasure’.
‘Pain and Pleasure’ was released on August 15th, 2022, while ‘Just Wanna Rock’ came out on October 17th, 2022.
Brian McBrearty mentioned the tempo, structure, and rhythmic patterns in the similarities, including the “ah” chants and phrasing around “rock.”
Rawyal stated the songs “reside in the core band of ‘allegro,’ between 130–150 beats per minute, and employ the same drum pattern and rhythmic syncopation, known as ‘tresillo,’ a hallmark of reggaeton and dance beats.”
He added that they include “first-person, present-tense declarations that end with the identical word ‘rock,’ forming a parallel lyrical structure.”
Rawyal is asking for $110 million in damages for loss of streaming revenue, sync and licensing deals, and reputational harm. He also wants a publishing credit, an ownership share and an injunction to stop the use of the song.
Produced by MC Vertt and Synthetic, ‘Just Wanna Rock’ appeared on Pink Tape and reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went viral on TikTok through its Jersey club sound; Uzi once said the dance is called “blicking,” which comes from Philadelphia.