GloRilla Asks Judge To Toss “Natural, No BBL” Lyric Lawsuit

Key Takeaways:

• GloRilla’s legal team is challenging a lawsuit over her “natural, no BBL” lyric, calling the phrase too generic to copyright.
• Instagram influencer Natalie Henderson claims she coined the phrase and is suing over its use in the rapper’s “NEVER FIND.”
• The case highlights the growing tension between social media creators and artists over viral language in music.

GloRilla has no plans to entertain the lawsuit that influencer Natalie Henderson filed against her over the “natural, no BBL” lyric on 2024’s “NEVER FIND.” The case claims that the bar is too similar to Henderson’s viral catchphrase and a song she wrote. On Monday (Sept. 8), the Memphis rapper’s legal team moved to have the case dismissed entirely, since the phrase is “too common.”

According to a filing obtained by Billboard, the rapper’s lawyers argued, “The phrase ‘natural[e], no BBL’ — referring to a person with a natural body who has not undergone the ‘Brazilian Butt Lift’ cosmetic procedure — is too common, everyday, trite and clichéd to be protectable by copyright.” Glo’s legal team also pointed to at least seven other examples of artists who’ve used the same words, including her “Get In There” collaborator, Real Boston Richey.

“The phrase at issue in plaintiff’s song is not original and thus not copyrightable,” the motion continued. Henderson likely has a challenging case ahead of her, as copyright law rarely covers short, widely used phrases. On top of that, the GLORIOUS artist’s attorneys mentioned there’s no proof she’d even heard the influencer’s alleged catchphrase.

Henderson’s original lawsuit, which she filed in June, claimed there were “unmistakable similarities between the two works.” Now it’s up to a judge to decide if that’s enough for the case to move forward. It’s worth mentioning that GloRilla is already 2-0 against copyright claims.

In 2023, Ivory “Mobo Joe” Paynes of Dog House Posse accused her of sampling his track “Street of the Westbank” without permission on “Tomorrow” and “Tomorrow 2.” That suit was dismissed just a year later.

Then, in March, rapper Plies dropped his own lawsuit against Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, Cardi B and Soulja Boy. He had accused the four of sampling his track “Me & My Goons” for Glo’s “Wanna Be” before ultimately abandoning the claim.