For the third time, singer Dua Lipa and her label Warner Music Group are being sued for copyright infringement on the single Levitating, released in March 2020. Music producer Bosko Kante filed a lawsuit against the artist on Monday in Los Angeles. He is claiming $20 million for copyright infringement and $2 million in damages.
According to the BBC, the plaintiff said he created a track, for the original version of Levitating, using a talk box. This device changes the sound of an instrument by making it mimic the human voice. Nevertheless, the musician specifies that Dua Lipa did not have the authorization to use this track for remixes. But in October 2020, the singer released a new version of Levitating in duet with DaBaby.
Bosko Kante’s lawyers reportedly tried to resolve the conflict amicably, without success. “Our efforts failed. Defendants have refused to cooperate or take responsibility for this copyright infringement,” they said. The musician has nearly thirty years of career behind him. He has notably collaborated with big names in American hip-hop such as Kanye West, J-Cole, and Flo Rida.
This is not the first controversy around Dua Lipa and her single Levitating. A complaint for plagiarism and copyright infringement was already filed by the reggae group Artikal Sound System in March 2022. According to the latter, the singer stole the melody of their track Live Your Life (2017) to compose her hit . On June 5, 2023, the group dropped their lawsuit against the pop star, days after a federal judge ruled in their favor. Songwriters Sandy Linzer and L. Russell Brown also filed a lawsuit against the singer in 2022. Both accuse Dua Lipa of plagiarizing their songs Wiggle and Giggle All Nigh (1979) and Don Diablo (1980) for Levitating. The case is expected to go to trial soon. For the time being, neither Dua Lipa nor her label have yet commented on the case.
