Dua Lipa and Warner Music are facing another copyright lawsuit over the singer’s hit song “Levitating.” Music producer Bosko Kante has filed the third lawsuit, alleging that Lipa used his “talk box” recording without permission in the remixes of the song.
According to Billboard, Kante claims that the “talk box” track was originally created for the original version of “Levitating.” However, Lipa and Warner Music did not have the right to use it in subsequent remixes, including the popular version featuring DaBaby.
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In the lawsuit filed on Monday, July 31, in federal court, Kante’s lawyers stated that he had made several attempts to resolve the matter outside of litigation, but the defendants were unwilling to cooperate or take responsibility for the alleged copyright infringement.
Bosko Kante, known for his talk box performances for artists like Kanye West and Big Boi, is the co-founder and CEO of the ElectroSpit talkbox. He claims that he was approached by one of the producers of “Levitating” in 2014 to create a talk box performance for the original release of the song. Kante alleges that he and the producer had a verbal agreement allowing his performance to be used in “Levitating.” However, this agreement did not explicitly extend to the Kanye West , leading to the current copyright dispute.
The lawsuit targets all three remixes of “Levitating,” featuring The Blessed Madonna with Madonna and Missy Elliott, as well as the version with DaBaby. Kante’s lawyers argue that all three remixes used a greater amount of his work than the original version and were used without proper authorization or permission.
Reps for Dua Lipa and Warner Music Group have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
This is the third copyright lawsuit that Dua Lipa and Warner Music have faced over “Levitating.” Last month, they won the dismissal of a case brought by the reggae band Artikal Sound System, which claimed that the song’s hook was borrowed from their 2017 song. In March 2022, the singer was hit with a second copyright infringement lawsuit by songwriters alleging that “Levitating” was substantially similar to the 1979 song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night.”
As the legal battles continue, the fate of “Levitating” remains uncertain. The song, featured on Dua Lipa’s album Future Nostalgia, gained massive popularity and spent 77 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
While rulings for the previous cases are pending, the recent lawsuit by Bosko Kante adds another layer of complexity to the copyright disputes surrounding the hit song. The legal battle continues, and both Lipa and Warner Music will have to defend themselves against the allegations of unauthorized use of Kante’s “talk box” recording in the remixes of “Levitating.”