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Fahmy's Copyright Lawsuit Against Jay-Z Over Big Pimpin' Goes to Jury
Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z is facing accusations of copyright infringement on his 1999 hit song, Big Pimpin’.
Long-standing allegations of copyright infringement against Jay-Z will finally be heard by a jury, as the relative of a late Egyptian composer says the American hip hop mogul unlawfully sampled his uncle’s 1960s song.
Osama Ahmed Fahmy first filed a lawsuit against rapper Jay-Z and producer Timbaland in 2007, alleging that the pair illegally sampled the Egyptian song “Khosara, Khosara” in their 1999 hit, “Big Pimpin.’”
After years of litigation — involving complex issues related to statutes of limitations and sub-licensing agreements — a California judge ruled March 30 that a jury should decide whether the American artists had the right to sample the song.
A court date is tentatively set for next October, Law360 reported.
“The copyright owner has the right to ensure that somebody else doesn’t use the work in a different medium or different form without the copyright owner’s consent,” explained Keith Wesley, a Los Angeles-based lawyer representing Fahmy.
Fahmy says he is the heir of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, who wrote “Khosara, Khosara.” The song was performed by beloved Egyptian crooner Abdel Halim Hafez and featured in the 1960 film, Fata Ahlami (Dreams of Youth).
The opening bars of “Khosara, Khosara” are unmistakable on “Big Pimpin’” Whether the artists sampled the song is not up for contention; what is being debated is whether they had the legal right to use it in the first place.
The “Big Pimpin’” producers reportedly sub-licensed “Khosara, Khosara” from EMI Arabia, which acquired the rights to the song from Egyptian label Sout el-Phan.
“We’re looking for fair compensation for use of ‘Khosara, Khosara’ in a very popular song over more than the past decade. Our claim for monetary compensation extends to both record sales, royalties and a portion of concern revenues,” said Wesley, adding that the exact figures are confidential.
The lawsuit — which names MTV, Paramount Pictures, Universal Music, and Warner Music as co-defendants, among others — also alleges that “Big Pimpin’” has “mutilated” the original song.
“Here it’s of great concern to the owners of “Khosara, Khosara”. . . it’s a new derivative work that includes some content that offends the sensibilities of many people,” Wesley said, about Jay-Z’s version.
In the song, he raps, “You know I thug em, (expletive) em, love em, leave em/Cause I don’t (expletive) need em,” while the music video shows the rapper dancing on a yacht alongside dozens of bikini-clad women.
George Dimitri Sawa, a musician and historian of Arabic music based in Toronto, said he remembers “Khosara, Khosara” from when he was a child growing up in Alexandria, Egypt.
“This song is from the 50s, when I was a child. It’s sad, (the lyrics say) that you, my neighbour, have left me. It’s a sad song,” he said.
Sawa told the Star that the music of Abdel Halim Hafez, who is one of Egypt’s most celebrated singers from that period, was loved by many, including former President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
“He sang songs that people could sing along (to) easily, and in that way, it was very well liked. He was fond of Nasser, and Nasser was fond of him,” Sawa said.
Contacted by the Star, David Steinberg, a lawyer representing the record company defendants, said he could not comment on the ongoing case.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steinberg said in court that Fahmy gave his consent to EMI to sub-license the recording.
“He had the chance to say, ‘I don’t want to allow sublicenses.’ The whole notion of whether he consented to them is frankly undisputed,” Steinberg said.
“Big Pimpin’” features on Jay-Z’s fifth album, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal more than a decade later, the rapper was critical of the hit track, saying that while re-reading the lyrics to past songs can sometimes be profound, “Big Pimpin’” was the exception.
“It was like, I can’t believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing?” Jay-Z said.
By Jillian Kestler-D’Amours
thestar.com