May 7 marks the third anniversary of the release of “This Is America,” which allowed Childish Gambino to win four awards at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Yesterday, Childish Gambino was sued for the song.
Florida rapper Kidd Wes has filed a lawsuit against Gambino’s “This Is America” for infringing on the copyright of his 2016 release of “Made in America.” According to the submitted documents, Kid Wes claims that the hook of the Gambino song is the same as his and claims damages in more than 43 categories, including music revenue and copyright.
Gambino’s real name is Donald Glover, co-composer Young Thug, producer Ludwig Göransson, Cobalt Music, RCA Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Young Stoner Life Publishing LLC, 300 Entertainment, Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group, Universal Publishing Group. Kid Wes posted “Made in America” on SoundCloud on September 11, 2016, and released it on streaming services about a year later. In 2019, “Made in America” was included on the last track of their album, “Eleven: The Junior-Senior Year.”
In 2018, rapper Jase Harley claimed that “This Is America” copied his 2016 song “American Pharaoh,” but Gambino denied the allegations, saying “This Is America” had been produced since 2015.