Donald Glover’s current wave of success from his latest project, the limited series “Swarm,” just got better.
On Friday (March 24), a judge sided with Glover in a yearslong legal battle over his 2018 hit “This Is America,” which is attributed to his rap persona, Childish Gambino. In 2021, Miami-based rapper Kidd Wes filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against the multi-hyphenated talent, claiming that the aforementioned track ripped the chorus from his 2016 song “Made in America.”
Wes’ suit argued there was an “unmissable substantial similarity of the two flows used in the songs’ respective hooks, as augmented by the two hooks’ substantially similar structure and lyrical content, is striking to an extent beyond coincidence and is accordingly audible to the average lay person who listens to both songs.” The “Atlanta” creator hit back at the suit by filing a petition to have it dismissed.
While it may have taken a few years for a decision to be made, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ultimately said that the two records literally could not be any more different. “A cursory comparison with the challenged composition reveals that the content of the choruses is entirely different and not substantially similar,” said Marrero in his ruling to dismiss Wes’ suit, according to Billboard. He also noted that “More could be said on the ways these songs differ, but no more airtime is needed to resolve this case.”
Earlier this year, Glover promised that eager fans would hear new music from his rap alter ego soon. He told E! News, “I’m making music right now,” while on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, where he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series. He continued, “I love it. I’m actually working. I’m in the studio. I’ve been, like, bringing people in — like secret people. Like, working on little things. But I’ve just been, like, making it for fun for right now. But soon, something will happen, I promise. Something will happen.”
Glover’s fourth studio album, 3.15.20, came out in March 2020. The 12-track LP featured assists from Ariana Grande on “Time,” as well as 21 Savage, Ink, and Kadhja Bonet on “12.28.” His newest musical effort would have to be his collaboration “Sticky” with “Swarm’s” fictional superstar Ni’jah on the series’ soundtrack.
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Manifesting new music from @donaldglover SOON 🎶 #GoldenGlobes #LiveFromE pic.twitter.com/CigAYkgIXU
— E! Entertainment (@eentertainment) January 11, 2023