Travis Scott sued for stolen 'Highest in the Room' riff by Danish musician claiming he showed it to producer
In October 2019, rap artist Travis Scott released a song titled ‘Highest in the Room’. In its first week, the track debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s catchy guitar riff, however, has become a matter of contention. According to a report in TMZ, the guitar part has been stolen.
Benjamin Lasnier, a Danish musician, singer, and producer claims it was his tune that was used in the song and has sued the artist. According to TMZ, Lasnier, who has created beats and tunes for rap artists like Trippe Redd, Desiigner, and Don Toliver, claims that he wrote and recorded the guitar part for ‘Highest in the Room’ back in early 2019. Following that, he began contacting different producers, engineers, and artists to look for potential buyers.
According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Lasnier claims he shared this guitar recording on his Instagram Stories on three separate occasions. That, of course, is something we can’t confirm, given Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours. Lasnier has more than 766,000 followers on the platform.
According to the report, around springtime in 2019, Lasnier claims he got in touch with a man named Jamie Lepr who works with Travis Scott. Lepr reportedly goes by Jimmy Cash on Instagram and apparently solicits beats. Lasnier claims to have sent Lepr a beat pack, which included the guitar melody in question. Despite the fact that no formal deal was struck between them, Lasnier claims he later heard a slightly tweaked version of his melody in ‘Highest in the Room’. According to him, the song had an uncannily similar arpeggio, which appears around 24 times in the track.
Lasnier says he never explicitly authorized Lepr to use the music and is now asking for damages and royalty. ‘Highest in the Room’, per TMZ, generated more than $20 million in revenue. Lasnier’s demands include an accounting of the profits, damages, and a running royalty share.
A source close to Scott told TMZ that this was a frivolous dispute between producers and had nothing to do with the rap artist directly.
‘Highest in the Room’ credits Scott for vocals and songwriting; Ozan Yildirim or OZ, a Turkish-Swiss record producer and songwriter, for production and songwriting; Nik D for production and songwriting; Mike Dean for co-production, mixing, and mastering; and Sean Solymar and Jimmy Cash as engineering assistants.