God forgives and Rick Ross doesn't. That's what disbanded pop-hop group LMFAO may learn now that the emcee has brought it to court, alleging that the line "everyday I'm shufflin'" from its 2010 track "Party Rock Anthem" is a copyright infraction of Ross's own hit "Hustlin'." The catchphrase from the latter, in case you weren't aware, is "everyday I'm hustlin'."
If anything from this story seems familiar, it may be because Ross himself just dodged a similar lawsuit from former drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, who alleged that the emcee had committed an illegality by borrowing his name. The judge ruled in the rapper's favor, as Music Times reported earlier this week.
If the judge in the new case reads the newspaper, he may feel less inclined to sympathize with Ross the rapper. It's true, as Ross's lawsuit points out, that LMFAO pretty shamelessly borrows the words and delivery of "Party Rock Anthem" from "Hustlin'." However, the use of three words might be a stretch for a copyright lawsuit. The dozens of previous lawsuits regarding sampling in hip-hop have often allowed clips less than 15 seconds as legal, and following similar logic, it's tough to see LMFAO getting busted for this move.
Plus, another legal lesson to be learned from Ross v. Ross: "Freeway" Rick lost to Rapper Rick partially because, as the judge pointed out, the emcee had been using the name since 2006 and the plaintiff failed to act until 2013. A judge could just as easily rule that if rapper Ross had a problem with the song in 2010, he should've brought suit before now.
If Ross does win however, he could be looking at a big payoff. The "Party Rock Anthem" single sold like hotcakes (7.5 million copies), and was used in various media and advertisements, as well as used on apparel. Ross could be owed royalties from all of the above.
