“What happened…at the New Wildins?” It’s the phrase that introduced Beyoncé’s “Formation.”
“Bitch, I’m back.” Said in the most distinctive of voices.
“By popular demand.” And it belonged to none other than Messy Mya—born Anthony Barré—the popular YouTube star, bounce rapper, and comedian who hailed from New Orleans and was fatally shot in 2010.
Ironically, however, those phrases aren’t the crux of a recent lawsuit filed against Beyoncé by Barre’s estate—despite them being up for debate among fans, as well (see below).
According to TMZ, what the estate has taken issue with is Bey’s use of Messy Mya saying “I like that,” claiming Bey sampled his words without permission. They are now suing Beyoncé for more than $20,000,000 in back royalties and other damages.
Mya can heard saying the phrase in his “A 27-Piece Huh” video at the :29 and :45 marks.
As for the words that opened the hit record, Mya can be heard saying them in his NSFW “Booking the Hoes from New Wildin” video at the :16 and 4:10 marks.
This isn’t the first time Bey has been in hot water regarding her Lemonade output. Back in June, she was sued by an independent filmmaker who claimed that the trailer for the visual album copied, without his permission, several elements from his 2014 short film. A judge dismissed the lawsuit.