That took a while...(Big Pimpin'-R)
Hollafame
844 Posts
For the last decade, Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" has been a mainstay of pool parties, barbecues, and just about every other type of nice-weather celebration in existence. So the next time you crack open a beer to the opening strains of the song's intoxicating sample of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdy's 1960 tune "Khosara, Khosara", be grateful-- because that sample might end up costing Jay a whole lot of money soon.
MTV reports (via The Hollywood Reporter) that California federal judge Christina Snyder ruled this past Tuesday that Hamdy's relative Osama Ahmed Fahmy, can proceed with a lawsuit claiming that the sample's use violates Hamdy's "moral rights", per Egyptian law.
Before you start pondering the gender politics that go along with the lyric "You know I thug 'em, fuck 'em, love 'em, leave 'em/ Cause I don't fuckin' need 'em", "moral rights" doesn't exactly imply what it sounds like it does. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fahmy's lawsuit contends that only the full, unaltered version of "Khosara, Khosara" could be legally licensed; since the use of the song in "Big Pimpin'" is an altered sampled loop, under Egyptian "moral rights" law, Jay-Z would have had to acquire permission from all four of Hamdy's children, who the song's rights were passed down to when Hamdy passed away in 1993.
In addition to Jay, the lawsuit also names EMI Publishing, MTV Networks, UMG Recordings, Warner Music, Paramount Pictures, and others defendants. Below, watch the video for "Big Pimpin'", along with a video of Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez performing "Khosara".
http://www.pitchfork.com/news/42443-jay-z-faces-lawsuit-over-big-pimpin-sample/
MTV reports (via The Hollywood Reporter) that California federal judge Christina Snyder ruled this past Tuesday that Hamdy's relative Osama Ahmed Fahmy, can proceed with a lawsuit claiming that the sample's use violates Hamdy's "moral rights", per Egyptian law.
Before you start pondering the gender politics that go along with the lyric "You know I thug 'em, fuck 'em, love 'em, leave 'em/ Cause I don't fuckin' need 'em", "moral rights" doesn't exactly imply what it sounds like it does. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fahmy's lawsuit contends that only the full, unaltered version of "Khosara, Khosara" could be legally licensed; since the use of the song in "Big Pimpin'" is an altered sampled loop, under Egyptian "moral rights" law, Jay-Z would have had to acquire permission from all four of Hamdy's children, who the song's rights were passed down to when Hamdy passed away in 1993.
In addition to Jay, the lawsuit also names EMI Publishing, MTV Networks, UMG Recordings, Warner Music, Paramount Pictures, and others defendants. Below, watch the video for "Big Pimpin'", along with a video of Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez performing "Khosara".
http://www.pitchfork.com/news/42443-jay-z-faces-lawsuit-over-big-pimpin-sample/