Earlier this week, it was revealed that Dua Lipa was being sued by Artikal Sound System, a Florida reggae band, for copyright infringement. The band alleges that the singer stole from their 2017 song “Live Your Life” for her 2020 song “Levitating,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. When the two tracks were compared side by side, it was clear that they shared numerous similarities. However, a TikToker is saying not so fast.
PURE. EVIL. THEY stole DUA’S work, and they went to unbelievable lengths to make it seem like SHE was the thief. RETRIBUTION WILL BE PAID pic.twitter.com/nitv8q7kwC
— lip
(@lipasexual) March 4, 2022
A TikTok-er with the handle @mathiasmorte claims that the lawsuit could be a hoax of some sort. He points out that the YouTube versions of the song were only posted within the last few days while noting that the Soundcloud post of the song dates back to March 2017. He adds that Soundcloud allows users to replace audio files without having to change the song’s post date. Additionally, Soundcloud’s website says this replacement can happen without losing any stats or comments that were originally on the song. Despite this, the oldest comment from the song only dates back to a few days ago.
Towards the end of the video, he points out that it’s highly unlikely that Dua Lipa discovered this song, which had no comments when “Levitating” was released, and decided to copy it nearly note for note. Lastly, TikToker @mathiasmorte questions the timing of the lawsuit as it comes two years after “Levitating” arrived, but a little over a month after Artikal Sound System released their new album Welcome To Florida.
For what it’s worth, it would be extremely bizarre for Artikal Sound System to file a lawsuit over a claim that could be so easily disproven. For starters, Soundcloud could have a record of if and when Artikal Sound System swapped records on their page, as the TikTok video suggests. Furthermore, Artikal Sound System’s “Live Your Life” was a part of their 2017 EP Smoke & Mirrors, and while you can’t listen to it on Spotify, as it was removed from the platform, you can view its greyed-out listing here.
Dua Lipa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.