A Haitian music legend, Fabrice Rouzier, has filed a lawsuit before a New York Court in the United State against two times Nigerian Grammy winning artiste, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy over allegations of infringement.
Rouzier accused Burna Boy of stealing his intellectual property in the track ‘4 Kampe’, which the “last last’ crooner featured a French-Haitian artist Joe Dwet File, also known as Joe Giles.
According to the Haitian artiste, the collaborative track released on March 28, 2025, heavily features the composition, story, sound recording and video material from his 2002 song ‘je vais’ without authorization.
in the court document, the first infringement occurred in fall 2024, when Gilles released ‘4 Kampe’ based on elements from ‘Je Vais’, prompting Rouzier to issue a cease and desist letter against the French-Haitian artiste, who he claimed admitted the allegations.
However, Giles allegedly ignored the initial warning and proceeded to release a remix, ‘4 Kampe II’, featuring Burna Boy, which the plaintiff claims bears a striking resemblance to ‘Je Vais’, with similar lyrics.
In the document issued on Thursday, the Haitian artist noted that despite Burna Boy’s awareness of Gilles’ admission to stealing from him, the duo has continued to cause him serious harm, including lost profits, lost opportunities, and damage to his reputation.”
Rouzier claimed that Gilles and Burna Boy’s refusal to cooperate left him no option but to file a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York to seek justice
Meanwhile, he is asking the court to award compensatory and exemplary damages, attorney fees against both musicians as well as injunction to stop further use of his work.
In addition, the plaintiff is requesting the destruction of all copies of ‘4 Kampe’ and ‘4 Kampe II’ and an order preventing Gilles and Burna Boy from using his likeness.
