A federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit against Cardi B and her record label that alleged her US Top 10 hit Enough (Miami) was copied from an earlier track.
In July 2024, musicians Joshua Fraustro and Miguel Aguilar (aka Kemikal 956) claimed Cardi B ripped off their track, Greasy Frybread, released by the label Tattoo Muzik Group Studios on November 9, 2021.
They claim that “this song has gained significant recognition”, and note that it was used as a promo for the hit FX series Reservation Dogs.
Cardi B’s Enough (Miami) was released over two and a half years later in March 2024 via Atlantic Records. The track has been streamed over 97.9 million times on Spotify to date.
US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of the Southern District of Texas sided with Cardi B, along with Atlantic Records and parent company Warner Music Group.
The Texas court found that the plaintiffs sued in the wrong place. Cardi B, born Belcalis Almanzar, lives in New Jersey, and Atlantic Records and Warner Music are based in New York and incorporated in Delaware.
Fraustro and Aguilar’s argument that Cardi B’s Texas concert performance established jurisdiction didn’t hold up because she performed across many states, not Texas specifically.
The judge wrote: “Plaintiffs rely solely on her performances in Texas on numerous occasions over several years. But Plaintiffs do not demonstrate that Almanzar targeted Texas for concert performances, rather than simply including Texas venues within a broader concert tour in numerous states.”
“Almanzar’s performances in Texas are not distinct from her performances in those other states, rendering the concerts in Texas insufficient to establish general jurisdiction,” the judge added.
The labels streaming music in Texas was also no different from what they did in other states, according to the judge.
“Plaintiffs fail to show that these activities differed from these Defendants’ activities in other states—i.e., the fact that Defendants published musical works online so as to make them available in every state does not reveal a targeting of the Texas market.”
“Plaintiffs rely solely on [Cardi b’s] performances in Texas on numerous occasions over several years. But Plaintiffs do not demonstrate that Almanzar targeted Texas for concert performances, rather than simply including Texas venues within a broader concert tour in numerous states.”
Fernando Rodriguez Jr., US District Judge
The judge added that even if personal jurisdiction existed, each of the two musicians’ causes of action “would be subject to dismissal for failing to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
The court also found that the plaintiffs didn’t have a copyright registered for their song when they filed the lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs do not allege that they obtained a copyright for Greasy Frybread before Defendants’ alleged wrongful conduct. This omission proves fatal to their claims for vicarious infringement and contributory infringement,” the judge wrote.
Fraustro and Aguilar secured a copyright for the song on October 31, 2025, more than a year since their lawsuit was filed.
When they couldn’t pursue the copyright route, the judge said the plaintiffs attempted to reframe the same complaint using Texas state laws including claims for tortious interference, defamation, unfair competition, and misappropriation of intellectual property.
They also alleged claims under federal law for vicarious infringement and contributory infringement against Atlantic Records and Warner Music.
The judge wrote: “As their own allegations render clear, the cause of action stems from the alleged unlawful copying of Plaintiffs’ musical work, a subject that falls squarely within the Copyright Act’s subject matter. As a result, the Copyright Act preempts this cause of action as alleged.”
On defamation, the judge sided with Cardi B that her song “makes no reference to the Plaintiffs, either expressly or implicitly.”
“As Defendants note, the Plaintiffs’ proposed amendments do not cure the deficiencies in the claims within the Second Amended Complaint.”
Fernando Rodriguez Jr., US District Judge
On unfair competition, they argued that Cardi B and her label used Greasy Frybread in competition to create Enough (Miami), resulting in commercial harm to the two artists.
Judge Rodriguez ruled that “As Plaintiffs do not include sufficient allegations to identify the specific cause of action alleged, they fail to present a viable claim.”
The court also prevented the plaintiffs from filing another amendment to their complaint, saying it “would be futile.”
“As Defendants note, the Plaintiffs’ proposed amendments do not cure the deficiencies in the claims within the Second Amended Complaint.”
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