The last week has been a big one for suing based on creative copyright. First the Gaye estate finally brought a lawsuit against Robin Thicke for the similarities between "Got To Give It Up" and "Blurred Lines," and then Teddy Riley sued Lady Gaga regarding the songwriting credits for the track "Teeth." Now Jay Z and his label Roc Nation Records are being sued by Tuf America regarding a song the Hov sampled...in 2009.
It's not like they just now realized it, either. The track in question, "Run This Town," made all sorts of headway when it debuted during 2009. The sample in question is "Hook and Sling" by Eddie Bo, a 1969 funk instrumental, to which Tuf owns the rights.
"TufAmerica did not authorize the defendants' reproduction, distribution or public performance of the audio recording 'Run This Town' in a music video or in the albums," the company wrote in a statement. The label acquired the song in 1996.
It's tough to deny that Kanye West knew what he was doing when he sampled the track for "This Town." The rapper/producer was sued last year by Tuf America for featuring samples of the track during two songs on his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album: "Who Will Survive in America?" and "Lost In The World." He also featured it on the track "G.O.O.D Friday," but as a free download, it wasn't eligible for lawsuit.
If Tuf succeeds in these suits, they may have found a way to turn a profit from it. The track was featured in the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series -a collection of breakbeats and samples that's popularized go-to's such as the "Amen break"-which means it's possibly in hundreds of records. One you might recognize: The "You ready?" line from Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" is the intro to "Hook and Sling."
