₦airaland Forum

Haitian music icon Fabrice Rouzier sues Burna Boy for alleged theft, seeks heavy damages in New York court

Rouzier is asking the court to award compensatory and exemplary damages against Gilles and Burna Boy.

Haitian music icon, Fabrice Rouzier, has sued Nigerian musician Damini Ogulu, professionally known as Burna Boy, in a New York court over allegations that the ‘Ye’ crooner stole sound and video compositions of his 2002 song ‘Je Vais’, according to legal filings sighted by Peoples Gazette.

The case stems from the recently released hit song ‘4 Kampe II’ by French-Haitian singer Joe Gilles, also known as Joe Dwet File, in collaboration with Burna Boy, which Rouzier is now claiming heavily features the story, music composition, sound recording, and video material from ‘Je Vais’ without permission.

According to court documents, the first infringement occurred in fall 2024, when Gilles intentionally released ‘4 Kampe’ based on materials from ‘Je Vais’, prompting Rouzier to issue a cease and desist letter against the defendant, who the plaintiff claimed later admitted to the accusations of infringement.

Ignoring the initial warning, Gilles, who couldn’t overlook the success of ‘4 Kampe’, went ahead to release a remix of the song with Burna Boy titled ‘4 Kampe II’ on March 28, 2025, which the plaintiff claimed again mimicked ‘Je Vais’, with similar lyrics like “Cherie, ou sou sa kampe” in French (“Darling, let’s do this in the standing position”).

Court documents noted that despite Burna Boy’s full knowledge of Gilles’ own admission to stealing from Rouzier, the duo has continued to directly engage in conduct that has caused the plaintiff serious damages, including lost profits, lost opportunities, and loss of goodwill.

Rouzier said the blatant lack of cooperation displayed by both Gilles and Burna Boy left him with no other choice than to file a lawsuit against them in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York to seek redress on the matter.

Meanwhile, Rouzier is asking the court to award compensatory and exemplary damages against Gilles and Burna Boy. He is also seeking reimbursement of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

The plaintiff is also praying the court to grant an order barring Mr Gilles, Burna Boy, and their representatives from further use of his persona, image, and likeness in connection with ‘4 Kampe’ and ‘4 Kampe II’, and to issue an order for the destruction of all copies of such videos.

The lawsuit against Burna Boy came exactly two weeks after his arch-rival, Davido, was also sued by four Nigerian artistes in the United States over claims that the singer stole their song ‘Work’.

Oldskills:
Joke

YINKS89:
They would settle out of court trust me.. but intellectual property needs to be taken seriously in Africa.