Kendrick Lamar is recently accused of stealing someone else's artwork. Lina Iris Viktor claims that her work was featured in Lamar's music video for "All the Stars."
The song appears in the official soundtrack for Black Panther, and Lamar collaborated with SZA in the song. Viktor revealed that representatives from Marvel reached out to her in November 2016 and December 2017 about including her artwork in the movie, but she declined the company's offer.
Did Kendrick Lamar Steal Someone Else's Artwork?
Even though she refused to sell her work for Black Panther, Viktor claimed that Marvel still used her artwork from her "Constellation" series in Lamar's music video. Viktor's lawyer, Christopher Robinson, sent Anthony Tiffith, Lamar's mentor and the head of Top Dawg Entertainment, a letter regarding the alleged copyright issue.
Robinson said that his client is demanding that a resolution must be made about the use of her artwork in the video. This should include a public apology, among many other things. During a recent phone interview, Robinson could not also believe that Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment will steal someone else's work.
"Why would they do this? It's an ethical issue, because what the whole film purports is that it's about black empowerment, African excellence - that's the whole concept of the story. And at the same time they're stealing from African artists," said Robinson.
Official Soundtrack Released
The Black Panther soundtrack was just released last weekend. The album consists of 14 songs, namely Jay Rock's "King's Dead," Travis Scott's "Big Shot," The Weeknd's "Pray For Me," Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, and Saudi's "X," Khalid and Swae Lee's "Oops," Zacari's "Redemption Interlude," Reason's "Seasons," SOB X RBE's "Paramedic!" Ab-Soul, Anderson, Paak, and James Blake's "Bloody Waters," and more.
Prior to the official release of Black Panther soundtrack, the 30-year-old rapper dropped the official music video for "All the Stars" featuring SZA earlier this February. The over three-minute clip has already been viewed over 10 million times. "All the Stars" was released on Jan. 4.
Other than the recent allegations against Lamar, as well as the release of the Black Panther soundtrack, the award-winning rapper also made headlines for banning cameras during his tour in Europe. Even official photographers are not allowed to bring their devices to his concert venues.
