Christian rapper Flame allegedly sued Katy Perry for ripping off his 2008 track Joyful N
oise for her 2013 mega-hit Dark Horse in Missouri District Court on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old hip-hop artist – who studied in a seminary – claimed that his secular song’s high-pitched techno melody and snap-based beat were slowed down for Katy’s ode to the 1996 film The Craft.
According to the lawsuit obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Joyful Noise has been ‘irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in Dark Horse.’
The song by Flame – born Marcus T. Gray – scored a Gospel Music Association Dove Award nod and its album Our World: Redeemed earned a Grammy nomination.
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Dark Horse – written from the perspective of a witch – sold 6 million copies and the Egyptian-themed music video amassed 439 million views.
The 29-year-old pop diva – whose parents were Pentecostal pastors – crafted her ‘Southern rap-techno track’ with Juicy J, Sarah Hudson, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke.
Back in 2001, Perry’s debut album – titled Katy Hudson – was a Christian rock and gospel record with tracks like Faith Won’t Fail.
The 11-time Grammy nominee will next take her Prismatic World Tour – which features a special standing pit called ‘The Reflection Section’ – to Miami’s American Airlines Arena on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Flame will next take the stage for a two-night stand Friday and Saturday at the Bahamas Faith Ministries in Nassau.