Drake and Chris Brown are being sued for allegedly stealing a singer’s song for their collaborative hit single, “No Guidance.”
According to documents obtained by XXL on Wednesday (Oct. 6), Braindon Cooper a.k.a. Mr. Cooper, and producer Timothy L. Valentine a.k.a. Drum'n Skillz, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that Drizzy and Breezy's 2019 single, “No Guidance," lifted elements from Cooper and Drum'n Skillz's 2016 ballad "I Love Your Dress."
In their suit, Cooper and Drum'n Skillz claim the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement and narrative context from their song were allegedly copied or principally derived for "No Guidance.” The singer and producer specifically point out that their lyrics, "She got it, she got it,” are repeated 16 times on their song, while Drake and C. Breezy’s "You got it, girl, you got it" are mentioned at least 11 times.
The plaintiffs also claim that highly regarded musicology experts have compared "No Guidance" and "I Love Your Dress" and found a "high degree of combined similar features, including the hook lyrics and the primary scale degrees.” They also claim that non-expert listeners have separately pointed out that defendants copied "I Love Your Dress" in creating "No Guidance" as well, citing numerous noticeably similar composition elements and lyrics.
Elsewhere in the suit, Cooper and Valentine allege that Drake and Brown taunted them with the “Flew the coop” line, which Cooper claims is in reference to his nickname, Coop.
Cooper and Valentine are seeking monetary damages for the alleged infringement that include no less than 50 percent of all direct and indirect royalties and revenues generated by the commercial success of "No Guidance." They also want to examine the accounting of Drake and Chris Brown's financial records related to "No Guidance" to determine the rightful amount owed to them.
"No Guidance” is from C. Breezy’s Indigo album and is certified platinum. The nine-minute-long video for the song has garnered over 373 million views on YouTube since its debut in July of 2019.
Also named in the lawsuit is Drake’s longtime collaborator and friend Noah "40" Shebib who produced the track, along with producers Vinylz, J-Louis and Teddy Walton.
XXL has reached out to Drake and Chris Brown's teams for comment on this matter.
You can listen to Drake and Chris Brown’s "No Guidance" song and Mr. Cooper’s "I Love Your Dress" track and compare them for yourself below.