Yeasayer aren't suing The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar anymore

Brooklyn trio Yeasayer ended 2019 by announcing their official break-up. They began the new decade by taking legal action against The Weeknd for copyright infringement.

They were suing over ‘Pray For Me’, The Weeknd’s Black Panther single that also features Kendrick Lamar. The band claimed ‘Pray For Me’ contained an uncleared sample from their 2007 song ‘Sunrise’.

Per the legal documents, which were sighted by TMZ, Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder claimed ‘Pray For Me’ unlawfully borrowed “a distinctive choral performance” that “comprised of male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato, and developed via distinctive audio post-processing” from ‘Sunrise’.

The suit wasn’t just aimed at The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye). Rather, it named all of the song’s co-creators, publishers and distributors, including Lamar, producers Doc McKinney and Frank Dukes, and labels UMG, Interscope, Aftermath, and Top Dawg Entertainment.

In response, The Weeknd, Frank Dukes, and UMG asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, denying all allegations levelled against them. The Weeknd not only asserted that ‘Pray For Me’ contains no “actual sounds from the sound recording, ‘Sunrise’,” but also asked that Yeasayer cover his legal fees.

Four months down the line, Yeasayer have pulled out of the legal fight. Pitchfork viewed documents from the New York federal court in which Yeasayer “confirmed to their satisfaction that no copyright infringement occurred.” Intriguingly, Lamar, McKinney, Interscope, Aftermath, and Top Dawg aren’t mentioned in the dismissal, and seemingly played no role in the defense.

‘Sunrise’ appeared on Yeasayer’s debut album, All Hour Cymbals. The band released a total of five LPs before announcing their split in December 2019. ‘Pray For Me’ was released as the third single from the Black Panther soundtrack album. The song, which also features in the film, peaked at number seven in the US Billboard Hot 100 and #9 in the ARIA singles chart.