Earlier this week, Jay Z reluctantly took the witness stand in a trial relating to a sample used in his 1999 track ‘Big Pimpin”.
The Timbaland-produced track contains a sample of of ‘Khosara, Khosara’, a 1950s recording by Egyptian musician Baligh Hamdy, and the lawsuit, brought by one of Hamdy’s descendants, claims that his “moral rights” are violated by the song.
In 2007, Osama Ahmed Hamdy began proceedings against Jay and Timbaland, arguing that they failed to obtain permission to sample the song from all four of Hamdy’s children, who have owned the rights since his death in 1993.
In roughly 90 minutes of testimony this week, Jay Z pointed out that the liner notes of his Vol. 3…Life And Times Of S. Carter album clearly reference ‘Khosara, Khosara’, and said he believes he had a valid license to use elements of the song.
An amusing exchange occurred, however, when Jay’z lawyer asked him to clarify his many different business ventures, and what exactly he does with all his time. Apparently, the beleaguered streaming service Tidal is not at the forefront of his concerns:
Jay Z: “I make music, I’m a rapper, I’ve got a clothing line, I run a label, a media label called Roc Nation, with a sports agency, music publishing and management. Restaurants and nightclubs … I think that about covers it.”His lawyer: “I’m not so sure. You have a music streaming service [Tidal], don’t you?”Jay Z: “Yeah, yeah. Forgot about that.”
Oops. That said, Jay recently met with Samsung in their Silicon Valley offices, leading some to believe that an acquisition – or at very least, a partnership of some sort – might be imminent.
At various other points in his trial, Jay beatboxed, and joked about how “some people may have heard of” his mate Kanye West, whose Presidential run is imminent.
via Vulture
Photo: Kevork S. Djansezian via Getty Images
Photo: Kevork S. Djansezian via Getty Images
