Record label TufAmerica is suing Roc-a-Fella Records for Kanye West‘s illegal samples in songs off his 2010 LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Billboard reports that TufAmerica has held the rights to Eddie Bo‘s “Hook and Sling, Part 1″ for 15 years, and while the label did receive a $62,500 licensing fee, it claims that it never authorized multiple uses of the sample. Bo’s 1969 single appears in “Lost In the World” and “Who Will Survive in America?” by West, head of Roc-a-Fella offshoot G.O.O.D. Music.
Listen to Bo’s single, followed by West’s use in “Lost In The World” after the jump.
Eddie Bo, “Hook and Sling, Part 1″
Kanye West, “Lost in the World”
This, of course, isn’t the first time West has been hit with copyright claims after the use of a sample. In summer 2011, Numero Uno Group cited Jay-Z and Kanye for use of parts of the Syl Johnson track “Different Strokes” in Watch The Throne offering “The Joy.”
A report at the time claimed usage was never officially cleared with the 75-year-old blues singer before the album hit shelves and iTunes.
How do you think this latest sampling lawsuit against ‘Ye will turn out? Let us know your thoughts below, or on Twitter and Facebook.
I can in no way question Kanye’s talent and he is one of my favourite rappers, but I cannot understand the excessive amount of sampling and even among other artists.
I can appreciate the way Kanye interprets these songs compared to someone like, Jason DeRulo or Flo Rida – but have we come that far, that there is nothing left but reusing other songs?