Rapper Bad Bunny’s ex–girlfriend is suing the rapper for at least $40m over a well-known voice recording she provided the singer before he became famous.
Carliz De La Cruz Hernández, whose breathy ‘Bad Bunny, baby’ recording was included in two of the artist’s songs, claimed in a lawsuit filed this month in a Puerto Rico court that her voice and the phrase she came up with are being used without her permission.
The lawsuit, which was first reported by online Puerto Rico news site Noticel, notes that the phrase was used in the ‘Pa Ti,’ song, which has more than 355 million views on YouTube and more than 235 million reproductions on Spotify, according to NBC.
Her voice also was used in the ‘Dos Mil 16’ song, which has more than 60 million views on YouTube and 280 million reproductions on Spotify.
The lawsuit states that De La Cruz’s ‘distinguishable voice’ also has been used without her consent for songs, records, promotions, worldwide concerts, television, radio, and social and musical platforms.
Also sued is Noah Kamil Assad Byrne, manager for Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio.
De La Cruz and Martínez first became a couple in 2011. A year later, they began studying at the University of Puerto Rico in the north coastal town of Arecibo while also working at a nearby grocery store.
The lawsuit stated that during that time, Martínez was constantly creating songs and rhythms and would seek opinions from De La Cruz, who also was in charge of scheduling his parties and handling invoices and contracts.
A Bad Bunny representative reportedly reached out to De La Cruz in May 2020, saying he needed to talk to her.
‘In that call, (the representative) said, ’I know you don’t like to talk about Voldemort (referring to Martínez), but I need to ask you something,” the lawsuit stated.
He offered her $2,000 to buy the recording of her voice. De La Cruz declined and then spoke with someone at Rimas Entertainment who also offered to buy it, saying the recording would be used in the upcoming album, ‘Un Verano Sin Ti,’ the lawsuit stated.
But a deal was never reached, and the song was published without De La Cruz’s consent, according to the lawsuit.
