Kendrick Lamar Sued Over "Rigamortis"

Photo by Ari Marcopoulos

Two musicians, Eric Reed and Willie Jones III, are suing Kendrick Lamar for allegedly stealing their music for use in Lamar’s 2011 song “Rigamortis”, TMZ reports.

According to the report, Reed and Jones composed a song called “The Thorn” in 2010 that they claim was later sampled as the background music in “Rigamortis”, a standout hit from Lamar’s 2011 album Section.80. According to their lawsuit, Lamar took their music and simply added lyrics, with the plaintiffs claiming that “‘The Thorn’ isn’t merely part of “Rigamortis” … IT IS ‘Rigamortis.’”

Reed and Jones were not credited on the song, and are suing for at least $1 million. They are also seeking all “Rigamortis” profits and rights to the song.

Listen to “The Thorn” and then “Rigamortis” below.

“The Thorn”:

“Rigamortis”:

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