Drake and Chris Brown sued for $5 million over 2019 single “No Guidance”. Tykeiya Dore and Marc Stephens sued multiple defendants for copyright infringement in New Jersey on October 25, according to court documents obtained by AllHipHop.
The plaintiff claims that Drake and Brown’s “No Guidance” plagiarized Dole’s song “I Got It.” The collaboration between Drake and Brown is said to use “the same chord progression, rhythm, pitch, mood, melody, harmony, tempo, structure, phrasing and lyrics” as Dole’s song.
Dole created “I Got It” in 2015, published it in 2016, and uploaded it to YouTube in 2017. She registered the song with the U.S. Copyright Office in July 2019, one month after it was taken down.
The lawsuit claims that the writers and producers of “No Guidance” accessed “I Got It” because it was uploaded to director Benji Filmz’s YouTube channel. Vinylz is a co-producer of “No Guidance” and is said to have been following Benji’s channel.
“Defendant Anderson Hernandez, known professionally as Vinylz, discovered and acquired Tykeiya’s song ‘I Got It’ and Cardi B’s song on the Benji Filmz YouTube channel,” the lawsuit states. “In 2018, Vinylz later produced Cardi B’s song ‘I Got It’ Be Careful”. In 2019, Tykeiya’s song “I Got It” was used by Vinlyz on Chris Brown’s song “No Guidance” without permission.
Dole’s uncle Jesse Spruels allegedly provided “No Guidance” co-writer Nyjah Charles with copies of her songs. He faced off with Charles after “No Guidance” went off the air in 2019.
“After Defendant Chris Brown’s song “No Guidance” was released, Plaintiff’s uncle contacted Nija Charles to confront her about stealing the chorus of Plaintiff’s song “I Got It,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant Nija Charles blocked The social media account of the plaintiff’s uncle. The plaintiff’s uncle felt incompetent, humiliated and embarrassed for allowing the song “I Got It” to be copied without any compensation, so he never told the plaintiff Tykeiya about it until 2024. After hiring Marc Stephens on May 21, 2016, plaintiff Tykeiya discovered that her uncle knew that defendants Nija Charles and Vinlyz had access to her songs.
The lawsuit also takes aim at YouTube and Google for wrongfully removing copyright-infringing comparison videos uploaded by Stephens. The plaintiffs sued YouTube and Google, alleging unjust enrichment, defamation, common law fraud and emotional distress.
