Jay Z, Kanye West & Frank Ocean Did Not Steal "Made in America" Court Rules

A court has ruled that Jay Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean did not steal “Made in America.” The three were sued by New York based musician Joel McDonald back in 2014, and claimed that the song was a carbon copy of his song that held the same name, released in 2009. “Made in America” was featured on the 2011 collaborative album Watch the Throne, with Ocean singing the hook.

The $3 million lawsuit was originally dismissed by a district court back in 2014 and last Friday a federal court upheld that ruling, saying that the two songs “were not similar in copyright-protected ways,” Law360 reported. The court said that it “considered all of McDonald’s arguments and find them to be without merit.” Other defendants named in the suit included Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Music, Universal Music Group, and producer Mike Dean.

Kanye West is known for creating joint albums with other hip-hop artists, and recently confirmed that he has been in the studio with Drake.

The “Famous” rapper dropped the news during an interview with Vogue for his Yeezy Season 4 show. Rumors about the project had emerged after a billboard with their music company logos appeared in Los Angeles.

“We’re just working on music, working on a bunch of music together, just having fun going into the studio,” West said to Vogue. “We’re working on an album, so there’s some exciting things coming up soon.”

West did not mention a release date or name for the album despite confirming it in the interview. It was first mentioned during a performance at OVO Fest 2016 in early August.

Tags

Kanye West, Drake, Frank Ocean