
History often repeats itself, and in the case of Christian artist Victory Boyd and rapper Travis Scott, it’s the story of David and Goliath.
The Grammy-winning songwriter has filed a copyright infringement complaint against Scott, SZA and Future, accusing them of using elements of her 2019 song “Like the Way It Sounds” for their 2023 track “Telekinesis” without her permission.
“I’m suing some of the largest names in music, and here’s the story,” Boyd announced in a recent Instagram video, which breaks down her claims for her 135,000 followers.
According to Boyd, she wrote “Like the Way It Sounds” during a 2019 studio session with Kanye West in Wyoming, back when he was in his Jesus Is King era. Ye even recorded a version of the track, titled “Ultrasounds,” though it never saw the light of day. Boyd also recorded a demo of the song herself, and planned to eventually release it through her label, Roc Nation. Enter Travis Scott, one of Ye’s closest collaborators, who Boyd alleges had access to her music during those sessions. Boyd says she never spoke with Scott about the song, but in 2023, she heard parts of her song in “Telekinesis.”
Now, Boyd’s not holding back. In the video, Boyd repeatedly said the song was meant for God, and that’s why she’s suing Scott now.
“It’s not about the money,” she wrote. “It’s about reclaiming God’s property.”
And it’s not just Scott and his music collaborators that Boyd’s going after. She also alleges that Audemars Piguet, a French luxury watch brand, approached her for a licensing deal, which she declined. According to Boyd, the brand went ahead and used “Telekinesis” in a promotional video anyway.
Boyd is asking that all defendants named in the suit “recall and destroy” all copies of music that stemmed from her original work, as well as payment in “an amount to be determined at trial in actual damages and profits, plus interest.” She’s also seeking “a full and complete accounting of all profits obtained from their marketing, distribution, and national television broadcasting” of “Telekinesis.”
The million-dollar question (or more, depending on the damages): Are the two tracks actually that similar? Boyd plays her demo and Scott’s final track in the video, and there are evident similarities. But copyright cases like this hinge on proving not just “substantial similarity” but also that the accused had access to the original work. Boyd’s Wyoming connection to Ye—and by extension, Scott—will likely be a major talking point as the case progresses.
So far, Travis Scott, SZA and Future have kept quiet, as have their labels.
Here’s Boyd telling her story — and yes, she plays the songs so you can see how clear the theft is: