Beyoncé, Big Freedia Accused Of Stealing “Break My Soul” Lyric In New Lawsuit

Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty

A little-known bounce group from New Orleans is accusing music icon Beyoncé and bounce pioneer Big Freedia of jacking their lyric in a new lawsuit.

The suit was file on May 22 in the Eastern District of Louisiana by a group known as “Da Showstoppaz.” The four members of the group – Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs and Brian Clark – filed over the usage of the phrase “release a wiggle.”

The phrase in question was used by Big Freedia in her 2014 song, “Explode.” Da Showstoppaz claim that Freedia (real name Freddie Ross) took the line from their 2002 song, “Release A Wiggle,” which was featured on a mixtape by BlackHouse Entertainment.

The complaint claims:

“‘Explode’ infringes on Da Showstoppaz’s ‘Release A Wiggle’ twelve times, as the infringing phrase ‘release yo’ wiggle’ and several other substantially similar phrases are featured prominently in the song and evenly spread out across ‘Explode’s’ furious two-minute and forty-seven second runtime. Any reasonable person listening to ‘Release A Wiggle’ and ‘Explode’ would conclude that the songs are substantially similar.”

Beyoncé is named in the lawsuit because she sampled “Explode” in her monster hit, “Break My Soul,” from her 2022 album Renaissance. The album’s writers and producers (including Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z), as well as companies affiliated with the release of both songs, are also listed as defendants.

Da Showstoppaz are seeking credits and future royalties for both songs, as well as damages in relation to profits that Big Freedia and Beyoncé made for the songs. The group is also seeking damages from Beyoncé’s corresponding Renaissance tour and film.

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