Lil Uzi Vert is facing another lawsuit — this one for allegedly copying their hit song, “Just Wanna Rock.”
A federal lawsuit filed in Rochester, New York, claims that Lil Uzi Vert ripped off the 2022 song from an artist named Rief Rawyal, who alleges that the former’s track borrows almost all of its DNA from his own “Pain and Pleasure.”
Rawyal, who intended for the song to be a comeback track after years away from music, claims that Uzi's track “copies the original hook, melody, and theme” of "Pain and Pleasure” — specifically the chant “When I rock ah ah.” A forensic musicologist agreed, in a report attached to the filing that says there are numerous similarities between the two tracks, including drum pattern, theme, tempo, and lyrics.
According to Rawyal, he released “Pain and Pleasure” on Aug. 15, 2022. He claims that his track was suppressed on Meta’s platforms after Uzi released “Just Wanna Rock” on Oct. 17 of that year. Then as Uzi’s song became popular thanks to its inclusion in the trailer for the Blue Beetle movie as well as use on TikTok and Fortnite, Rawyal says that his uploads were either muted or removed on Facebook and Instagram.
Rawyal alleged that after he sent a cease and desist notice to Uzi’s label in June, Atlantic Records “responded” by having Lizzo post a parody version of “Pain and Pleasure” online.
The lawsuit alleges that both Uzi and Atlantic Records had access to Rawyal’s music due to Rawyal allegedly being in contact with the label’s president of Hip-Hop, R&B and Global Music, Lanre Gaba, since 2012. By providing his music to Gaba, Rawyal alleges that this created a pathway for his unreleased music to circulate around the record label and possibly get to Uzi and their producers.
Rawyal is seeking more than $110 million in damages in the suit that names not just Uzi, but also Atlantic Records, Roc Nation, Generation Now, and Warner Music Group. The plaintiff is also seeking a retroactive publishing credit, a share of ownership in the song, and an injunction to stop its further use.
Uzi’s latest lawsuit comes just days after a previous one from their alleged former personal assistant alleging harassment and workplace misconduct, was dismissed.
In that lawsuit, the alleged assistant, Jane Doe, said that she suffered “emotional distress and mental anguish” while assisting them on a tour after they were impressed by her service while she worked at a Balenciaga store in Los Angeles.
Doe claimed that she was subject to “intense and demanding to downright hostile and inappropriate” behavior from Uzi and alleged that they harassed her with “unwelcome sexual demands and advances” with the support of his management team.
On Nov. 6, Doe’s attorney filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice.