Gospel singer Victory Boyd is not going down without a fight in her copyright lawsuit over "TELEKINESIS." Her and her attorney, Keith White, are disputing that Kanye West did not have any sort of input over the demo, "Like the Way It Sounds." In fact, he allegedly didn't own it at all.
This rebuttal comes after McPherson LLP, who's representing Travis Scott, Future, and SZA, claimed that Kanye did. They said their clients got permission from him to move forward and adapt the groundwork. According to the defendants, Kanye West came up with the chords, beat and melody.
"To the extent that plaintiffs’ [complaint] survives this motion (which it should not), the facts will demonstrate that defendants’ use, if any, of the LTWIS work was duly authorized by Mr. West, as a joint author of the LTWIS work, having the right and authority to authorize such use," McPherson lawyers said earlier this month when they attempted to dismiss the suit.
But according to Boyd and White, she was the sole author from the beginning. That goes back to Ye's JESUS IS KING days when the song was first in development.
Travis Scott "TELEKINESIS" Lawsuit
In their response filed on Monday, July 28, White argues the "TELEKINESIS" trio took "creative license" with her lawsuit. He says it was "straightforward and succinct in asserting plaintiff’s sole creation of the original work," per Billboard.
Moreover, he wants to see cold hard facts before a decision is made. "The [complaint] alleges, in detail, that Boyd is the sole author of the original work and that the registrations were properly obtained. Any contrary assertions by defendants must be resolved on a developed factual record, not on a motion to dismiss."
Ed McPherson responded to White's statements, saying how Boyd is not the author of the work. "Well, I’m sure that will be news to Kanye, who has been receiving publishing royalties on this song since its inception!" He also called out a misstep where White's client said she was provided "with some chords and melodies that he liked."
"That sounds to me like Kanye gave her the music. In fact, the copyright registration that she filed actually confirms that the only part of the song that she wrote was (at least some of) the ‘lyrics!’ Who is she trying to fool?!”
