Childish Gambino is being sued by a Florida rapper claiming 'This Is America' was plagiarized

• The Florida rapper Kidd Wes is suing Childish Gambino over his hit 2018 song "This Is America."
• Wes claimed that the song has "substantial similarities" to his 2016 song, "Made in America."
• Gambino has not responded publicly.

Childish Gambino is being sued by the Florida rapper Kidd Wes over his 2018 song "This Is America."

In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday, Kidd Wes, whose real name is Emelike Wesley Nwosuocha, claimed that "This Is America" had "substantial similarities" to his 2016 song "Made in America," The Daily Beast reported.

Nwosuocha said that the "lyrical theme, content and structure" of the choruses of the two songs were "glaringly similar," per The Daily Beast.

Childish Gambino, whose real name is Donald Glover, released "This Is America" in 2018. At the time, the song quickly became one of the most talked-about events of the year and largely thanks to its bold music video that juxtaposed the song's uptempo beats with a biting message about racial inequality, police brutality, and gun violence in the United States. In 2019, it became the first rap song to win song of the year at the Grammy Awards.

Among the defendants named in the complaint are Glover's record label, RCA, along with Roc Nation and the Atlanta rapper Young Thug, who is credited as a writer and backing singer. Glover has not responded publicly to the claims. And he did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This isn't the first time that Donald Glover has been accused of plagiarizing "This Is America."

Shortly after the song's release in 2018, many fans including the influential Hip-Hop blogger DJ Akademiks noted a similarity between the song and a previous single by the rapper Jase Harley.

Although at the time, Harley said that he had no interest in pursuing legal action. "All artists get inspired by others… artists being thirsty for bread is why ppl don't wanna credit anyone for inspiration," he said in an Instagram post. "It's all love and support from me, glad if my record influenced his."

Donald Glover's manager, Fam Udeorji, rejected the plagiarism claims at the time and cited computer files dating back to 2015, which proved Glover's song was original.

"The Internet is a place of no consequences. I hate that [blogger] Toronto Akademiks/every white blogger can say something gospel and y'all take it," Udeorji said in a Facebook post. "This song is 3 yrs old, and we have the pro tool files to prove it," Udeorji said of the highly acclaimed "This Is America."

Listen to Childish Gambino's "This is America" here:

And Nwosuocha's "Made in America" here: