EXCLUSIVE: The Weeknd Denies He Stole Song With Kendrick Lamar

The Weeknd is denying a Brooklyn rock band’s claim that he conspired with Kendrick Lamar to steal their song.

(AllHipHop News) Hit singer The Weeknd is denying claims he conspired with Kendrick Lamar to steal a band’s song to make the hit record “Pray For Me.”

The Weeknd and Kendrick collaborated in 2018 on “Pray For Me,” which taken from the “Black Panther” soundtrack.

But Brooklyn rock band Yeasayer filed a lawsuit in February, claiming the chart-topping duo swiped “immediately recognizable” elements from their 2007 song “Sunrise” to make “Pray For Me.”

Yeasayer is going after all of the money Weeknd and Kendrick earned from the “Pray For Me,” but the Canadian singer is defending his integrity – and his pockets – in his legal response to the lawsuit.

“The work, ‘Pray For Me,’ was created independently from and without knowledge of the allegedly infringed work. With respect to the Prayer for Relief in the Complaint, Defendants deny all allegations made therein and deny that Plaintiffs are entitled to any of the relief they seek,” The Weeknd’s lawyer Adam I. Rich said.

A large amount of money is at stake for all of the parties involved in the lawsuit.

“Pray For Me” was a global hit, sold over 2 million copies and landed at #7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, while the soundtrack for “Black Panther” spent three weeks at #1.

Unfortunately for Kendrick, this is the second lawsuit the “Black Panther” soundtrack he curated has spawned.

Kendrick Lamar and TDE labelmate SZA were sued in 2018 for allegedly stealing scenes from the “All The Stars” music video from an African artist, but that lawsuit was settled out of court.