Kendrick Lamar, SZA sued over ‘All the stars’ video
Los Angeles, Feb 22 (IANS) Musicians Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and Top Dawg Entertainment have been sued by British-Liberian artiste Lina Viktor for what she sees as clear plagiarism of her work in the video of the track “All the stars”. The song is a part of the album for the blockbuster film “Black Panther”.
Viktor says Marvel Studios first contacted her in 2016, and then again earlier this year, about the possibility of either using works from her “Constellations” series-which feature “stylised motifs of mythical animals, gilded geometric forms on a black background, and distinctively textured areas and patterns, arrayed in a grid-like arrangement of forms” – for “Black Panther” set, or possibly commissioning her to make a new work to promote the film, reports nytimes.com.
Viktor ultimately declined, which, she says, explains why she was shocked when friends began forwarding her the video for Lamar and SZA’s song, asking if she had ended up working on the project.
The moment in question comes at 2:59 in the video, as Lamar wanders through a hallway covered in murals that do appear to closely resemble larger versions of Viktor’s work.
Her lawsuit also contains a number of comparison photographs of the two pieces, some of which are essentially indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Viktor is currently seeking “a minimum of a public apology for the unauthorised use and a license fee”.
Meanwhile, Lamar bagged the Best International Male Solo Artist at the 2018 Brit Awards on Wednesday night, beating contenders like Beck, Childish Gambino, DJ Khaled and Drake.
However, his performance on the track “Feel” and his Rich The Kid collaboration titled “New freezer”, at the extravaganza faced technical difficulties, among other problems.
