Jay-Z and Kanye West were slapped with a copyright lawsuit after legendary musician Syl Johnson claimed the two sampled his song "Different Strokes" without his permission.
However, Jay and 'Ye are saying that it doesn't matter if they used Johnson's song on their album, because it was recorded in 1972, and is not protected by copyright laws.
Carrie Hall, the attorney for the duo released a statement on behalf of the situation, saying: "Any claim based on the alleged use of Plaintiffs' recording is is barred because, inter alia, (a) the allegedly copied portion of the Plaintiff's recording is not part of the musical composition; and, if it is part of the composition, (b) is not protectable and/or (c) any use was de minimus."
Syl is telling a different story, saying Kanye originally asked to sample the song for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but was denied. According to Syl, Kanye threw "The Joy" on WTT without clearing it with him first.
Syl also says that Kanye tried to apologize to him about the mishap, but at that point, he wasn't having any of it.
"[Kanye] said he wanted to meet with me and apologize -- since I sued him -- but I didn't sue him to be smart," added Johnson. "I sued him because that's the right thing to do man. I'm a musician."
Do you think Syl is doing the right thing with his lawsuit?
Source: globalgrind.com
