Reggae Band Claims Dua Lipa Plagiarized 'Levitating'

According to a new report, the south Florida outfit Artikal Sound System is claiming that the British pop star's 2020 hit is a flat out rip off of their own lesser known track "Live Your Life." The band, which was filed in Los Angeles federal court, names Lipa, Warner Records and others as defendants in the case, seeking all profits made from the song plus damages in compensation. "Levitating" spent 68 weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 2 overall and was one of the longest running top 10 spots held by a female artist.

The lawsuit doesn't go into too much detail about how Lipa and her team infringed on their copyrights but does assert that the two tracks were so similar that it was "highly unlikely that ‘Levitating’ was created independently.” While the song has only been available Soundcloud since 2017, the case claims that the parties involved had access to and were aware of Artikal Sound System's "Live Your Life" but doesn't specify as to how the band knows this information.

Lipa and her team have yet to comment on the lawsuit. In an interview with The Journal, the pop singer did say of the track that "It was the first song that really helped me dictate what the other songs were going to sound like and things started to take shape once I had 'Levitating.’"

That being said, the two tracks do sound awfully similar. Both of their main melodies bear a strong resemblance, sharing many of the same notes, chords, cadence and general groove but whether or not that's enough to prove to a court that Lipa knowingly plagiarized the song remains to be seen.

But don't just take our word for it, compare the two songs for yourself below.

Photo via Getty/ Jamie McCarthy