A freelance photographer named Girodani Cipriani claims the rapper didn't ask for his permission or pay him money to use the image he shot during a 2011 trip to Africa.
- Jul 14, 2015
AceShowbiz - Kendrick Lamar is being sued over the cover art of his single "The Blacker the Berry". According to Bossip, the Compton native is accused of using a photo featured in the artwork without its photographer Giordano Cipriani's permission.
Cipriani, a freelance photographer, took the photo of a woman breastfeeding two children back in 2011 when he was on a trip to Africa. In the lawsuit he filed on July 10 in New York Federal Court, he claims that neither the rapper nor his team asked permission to use the image, or paid him for it.
He names Lamar, Top Dawg Entertainment, Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment as defendants in the suit. He's asking the judge to prevent the Grammy-winning MC from using the picture. He's also seeking $150,000 for each time the image was used and additional money to pay lawyer fees.
"The Blacker the Berry" appears on Lamar's latest chart-topping album "To Pimp a Butterfly" which arrived earlier this year. Cipriani's photo was used to promote the single on the 28-year-old entertainer's YouTube and Facebook page.
