In their written apology, the producers behind the copyright infringement lawsuit admitted Karol G recorded ‘Gatúbela’ two weeks before their song was published on YouTube
Two producers have issued a public apology to Karol G after suing the superstar singer last year with claims her song “Gatúbela,” from her album Mañana Será Bonito, copied elements from a track they previously released on YouTube titled “Punto G.”
Producers Jack “Ocean Vibes” Hernandez and Alfred “Alfr3d Beats” Caballero Rodriguez filed their lengthy apology letter in federal court on Wednesday after a mediation revealed their copyright infringement claims had no merit, they said. The written mea culpa accompanied a joint agreement confirming that Karol G and her co-writers, including Marvin “DJ Maff” Hawkins Rodriguez, paid no settlement money to secure the case’s dismissal. Under the deal, each side will cover its own attorney’s fees, while Karol G and her collaborators agreed to pay the mediation costs.
“During discovery, defendants provided evidence, including session files, that establish that DJ Maff independently created the beat months earlier and that Karol G recorded ‘Gatúbela’ two weeks before ‘Punto G’ was published,” the apology states. “Given this evidence, we have decided to dismiss our lawsuit and wish to sincerely apologize to Karol G and DJ Maff for our mistaken claims and public allegations. We were wrong.” (The producers also agreed to post the apology in English and Spanish on their social media accounts.)
In their underlying lawsuit filed last March, the producers claimed that a musicology expert “carefully compared” the two songs and found their “extremely similar” synthesizer riff and vocal chorus melody could not be explained without a forgery. But in a motion filed last month, Karol G and her camp said metadata and other analysis showed that “Gatúbela’s” beat, melody, and chord progression were created by DJ Maff in December 2021. Karol G then finalized the lyrics and recorded her vocals during a songwriting session in Spain on June 29, 2022. “Punto G” was released on YouTube on July 12, 2022.
Karol G and her lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The Colombian pop star, who won Song of the Year at the 2025 Latin Grammys for her chart-topping hit “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” previously prevailed in a copyright lawsuit filed over her 2021 dance hit “Don’t Be Shy.” In that case, a Florida judge tossed the lawsuit while blasting the plaintiff’s “proposed expert” as unqualified and unreliable.
