In 2023, Mr Eazi publicly accused Bad Bunny’s team of using elements from Joeboy’s song “Empty My Pocket” in the track “Enséñame a Bailar” without proper authorization. Backed by his company, emPawa Africa, the claim was framed as more than a single dispute. It was presented as part of a broader concern: that African artists are often under-credited or overlooked when their sounds travel into global hits.
From emPawa’s perspective, the issue was straightforward. They argued that the original creators Joeboy and producer Dera deserved recognition and compensation, and that attempts to resolve the matter privately had failed. The move toward legal action, in their view, was a necessary step to protect creative rights and assert ownership on an international stage.
Bad Bunny’s camp, however, rejected those claims. His team maintained that any elements used in the song had been legally cleared through proper channels, including third-party agreements. They argued that the dispute was not about theft, but about confusion over who actually held the rights to the material in question. In that sense, what appeared publicly as a copyright clash was, from their standpoint, a business disagreement over licensing.
The conflict eventually escalated into a lawsuit filed in the United States by producer Dera, with support from emPawa Africa. But rather than delivering a decisive ruling on the underlying claims, the case took an unexpected turn. The plaintiffs failed to meet key legal obligations missing deadlines, losing legal representation, and not appearing in court. As a result, the judge dismissed the case, effectively ending it without determining whether infringement had occurred.
That dismissal marked a turning point. With the lawsuit no longer active, Bad Bunny’s legal team shifted focus, asking the court to order emPawa Africa to reimburse more than $456,000 in legal fees. Their argument is that the case was not only weak but also improperly handled, leading to unnecessary costs that should now be recovered.
The request notably targets emPawa Africa rather than the individual who filed the lawsuit, placing responsibility on the company that supported and financed the legal action. For Bad Bunny’s team, the issue is now about accountability who should bear the financial consequences of a case that collapsed before it could be fully argued.
For emPawa, the earlier position suggests a different framing: a defense of artistic ownership and a push for fair recognition of African creators in a global industry where influence often travels faster than credit.
What began as a question of whether a song borrowed too much has since evolved into something broader. It is now a test of how far companies are willing to go to defend creative right and what happens when those efforts fall short in court.
