Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Funkmeister supreme George Clinton is suing the Black Eyed Peas, their Universal Music Group label and Cherry Lane music publisher for copyright infringement, after the musicians allegedly twice sampled his 1979 hit '(Not Just) Knee Deep' on the 2003 'Shut Up' remix and a Grammy Award-nominated CD.
Clinton, who is one of the most sampled musicians ever, first released his chart-topping hit on his 'Uncle Sam Wants You' album. '(Not Just) Knee Deep' originally ran 15 minutes and has been sampled by iconic rap legends such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac and LL Cool J.
Over the years, the professor of P-funk has had to roll up his sleeves and duke it out in the courts over his music. Clinton actually managed to get a judge to acknowledge his ownership of the legendary phrase "bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yeah," in the 1982 timeless hit 'Atomic Dog.' Clinton also won a ruling after record labels violated his rights by re-releasing four of his 1970s albums.
According to the court document, "Dr. Funkenstein" got word of the alleged Black Eyed Peas sampling when he was approached back in 1999 by one of the group's record producers who requested a license for a new remix of the song 'Shut Up.' Clinton says he denied the producer's request and thought that was the end of it. He was not aware that the group had already sampled his song in a prior version.
Clinton is seeking maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per infringement and an injunction prohibiting further distribution of the infringing song.
Wow, this is a pretty funked up situation!
Source: BV