Donald Glover—also known by his stage name “Childish Gambino”—is an award-winning actor, director, rapper, and writer whose most recent claim to fame is his award-winning song “This is America.” The song was a standout during the 2019 award season, where it secured four Grammy Awards, including awards for both Song and Record of the Year.[1]
On May 6, 2021, Plaintiff, Emelike Nwosuocha, a rapper who goes by the name “Kidd Wes,” filed suit against Donald Glover, some of his collaborators, and multiple corporations in the music industry for copyright infringement of the Plaintiff’s copyrighted song “Made in America.” Specifically, the Plaintiff alleged in its complaint that, inter alia, Glover’s “This is America” shares “substantial similarities [with “Made in America”] includ[ing] . . . nearly-identical unique rhythmic, lyrical, and thematic compositional and performance content contained in the chorus – or “hook” – sections that are the centerpieces of both songs.”
The present case is Nwosuocha v. Glover et al. (Case No. 1:21-CV-04047-VM) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint can be found at the following link: https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/childish-gambino-this-is-america-complaint-donald-glover.pdf