Roddy Ricch Defeats Copyright Lawsuit Over His Hit Single “The Box”
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Songwriter Greg Perry sued Roddy Ricch and Atlantic Records back in 2022, claiming that the rapper hijacked key elements from Perry’s 1975 song, “Come On Down,” for his chart-topping hit, “The Box.”
As of Monday (Feb. 12), Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the two songs weren’t remotely comparable. “No reasonable jury could find that the works are substantially similar,” the judge wrote in her filing per Billboard, noting, “significant dissimilarities” between the “aesthetic appeal” of each track.
Judge Torres described Perry’s record as a “soul song that contains a melodic tune” and felt Roddy’s song is more Hip-Hop “delivered in a monotone rap.” She also noted that the tempo of Perry’s song was “significantly faster” than “The Box.”
“[‘Come On Down’] is a sentimental song about ‘love and heartbreak,’ while ‘The Box’ is a braggadocious song about ‘amassing wealth, sleeping with multiple women, and being more skilled than other rappers’,” the judge continued.
In Perry’s initial filing, his legal team claimed that the standard music fan would easily hear how “strikingly similar” the two records are. “Comparative analysis of the beat, lyrics, hook, rhythmic structure, metrical placement, and narrative context by a musicology expert demonstrates clearly and convincingly that ‘The Box’ is an unauthorized duplication and infringement of certain elements of ‘Come On Down,’” the lawsuit read.
“Come On Down” is a sample that’s been used in multiple Hip-Hop songs including Jeezy’s “Wordplay” (2008) and Yo Gotti’s “I Remember” (2016). Both samples were cleared, giving Perry a songwriting credit and ownership stake.
For Roddy, though, he wasn’t found liable of copyright infringement. Judge Torres dismissed Perry’s case entirely.
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