Swizz Beatz Sues North Carolina Bar For Playing DMX Music Without Permission [VIDEO]

Kasseem Dean best known by Hip Hop super producer Swizz Beatz and major music publishers filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Charlotte against BoatYard Lake Norman, a waterfront venue in Cornelius, North Carolina, its owner Chris Boukedes and his company Hello Bye, LLC, which legally owns and operates the bar.. The suit alleges that the venue illegally played copyrighted songs including the DMX anthem “Party Up (Up in Here)” without a license.

The lawsuit was filed by Swizz Beatz and prominent music publishers including Universal Music Corp., Irish Intellect Music, Stone City Music Company, and more. Each of the plaintiffs are members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, also known as ASCAP, which licenses music on behalf of artists and acts as a middleman for music artists and collects royalties from businesses that play their songs.

The suit lists four songs in total that were all performed Nov. 30, 2024. These songs include:

• “Party Up (Up in Here)” — DMX
  Plaintiffs suing over this song: Universal Music Corp.;
• Swizz Beatz“Jump Around” — House of Pain
  Plaintiff suing over this song: Irish Intellect Music
• “Party All the Time” — Eddie Murphy
  Plaintiff suing over this song: Stone City Music Company
• “Shut Up and Dance” — Walk the Moon
  Plaintiffs suing over this song: Benjamin Berger Publishing; W. Chappell Music Corp. (d/b/a WC Music Corp.)

See video below