Lil Uzi Vert Faces $110 Million Copyright Lawsuit Over “Just Wanna Rock”

Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert is facing a major legal challenge as a Rochester, New York artist, Rief Rawyal, filed a $110 million copyright lawsuit. The suit claims that Uzi’s October 2022 hit, “Just Wanna Rock,” copied nearly every element of Rawyal’s August 2022 track, “Pain and Pleasure.”

According to the lawsuit, Rawyal alleges that Uzi replicated the hook, melody, theme, and chants, including the signature “ah ah” from his track. Forensic musicologist Brian McBrearty analyzed both songs and found a 93–97% similarity, citing identical tempo, structure, rhythmic patterns, lyrical phrasing, and chanting. Both tracks sit in the allegro tempo range of 130–150 beats per minute, share the same drum pattern and tresillo syncopation, and use first-person, present-tense declarations ending with the word “rock.”

Rawyal also claims that his promotional posts for “Pain and Pleasure” were muted or removed from Instagram and Facebook while Uzi’s song gained widespread attention. He asserts that Atlantic Records and Lil Uzi Vert had direct access to his material. Rawyal alleges prior collaboration with Lanre Gaba, Atlantic Records’ president of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Global Music, gave Uzi and his team access to demos and original songs, forming a “clear institutional pathway” for the alleged copying.

The lawsuit names Lil Uzi Vert, Atlantic Records, Generation Now, Roc Nation, and Warner Music Group as defendants. Rawyal seeks $110 million in damages for lost streaming revenue, sync and licensing deals, and reputational harm. He is also pursuing retroactive publishing credit, partial ownership, and an injunction to stop further use of the song.

This lawsuit adds to a busy legal week for Uzi, who is also dealing with a sexual harassment claim from a former assistant. Roc Nation was initially named in that case but is reportedly no longer a defendant. The outcome of these lawsuits could have significant implications for Lil Uzi Vert’s career and for copyright enforcement in contemporary hip-hop, particularly regarding songs with shared rhythmic and lyrical elements.