Bad Bunny Accused of Plagiarism? Nigerian Artist Files Lawsuit

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Bad Bunny is already one of the most internationally famous artists out there—and there’s no denying it. Recently, with the release of his latest album DeBÍ TiRAR Más FOToS, Benito kicked off a world tour, keeping fans excited across continents.

But now, he’s making headlines for a different reason. The Puerto Rican singer is reportedly facing a lawsuit from a Nigerian artist over an alleged case of plagiarism tied to one of his biggest albums, Un Verano Sin Ti, released in 2022.

As reported by Billboard, Bad Bunny is accused of plagiarism for using an unauthorized sample from Nigerian artist Dera (Ezeani Chidera Godfrey). “In a copyright case filed May 2 in Los Angeles federal court, attorneys for the artist Dera (Ezeani Chidera Godfrey) claim that Bad Bunny’s ‘Enséñame a Bailar’ illegally sampled from a 2019 track called ‘Empty My Pocket,’ the outlet explains.

‘Empty My Pocket’

@tboyuthman3♬ original sound – tboyuthman3

‘Enséñame a Bailar’

Dera’s lawyers claim that Bad Bunny’s team “turned a blind eye” to the issue, which is what led them to file the lawsuit. “It is not very often that a musical artist of Bad Bunny’s caliber and sophistication uses someone else’s music without permission, and then ignores the person’s efforts to resolve the problem,” said Robert A. Jacobs, attorney for Dera.

“Such a response is especially surprising when the unauthorized use pervades the entirety of the musical artist’s work. Unfortunately, these are the circumstances here,” Dera added.

And there’s more. The lawsuit also points to producer Lakizo as the one who allegedly gave Bad Bunny’s team access to the track. “Lakizo … is not an author of ‘Empty My Pocket’… and does not have – and never had – the right to prepare or authorize others to prepare derivative works,” the document states.

For now, it’s unclear if Benito or his team will respond publicly, but all eyes are on what happens next. Meanwhile, fans are already counting down the days to see him perform live on tour. But one big question remains: will ‘Enséñame a Bailar’ be on the setlist?