When the east is in the house, lawsuit. A 2007 album by ‘Clef reportedly lifted from the ’96 classic, and it’ll take big money to make it right.
Brooklyn duo Blahzay Blahzay made a Hip Hop classic in 1996’s “Danger.” The P.F. Cuttin-produced New York anthem featured the sharp cut-in vocals of Jeru The Damaja, Q-Tip and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, with an equally popular remix by Gang Starr’s DJ Premier.
Now, the duo of P.F. Cuttin and MC Out Loud are suing another east coast emcee/producer for using their own creation. Wyclef Jean sampled “Danger” on his 2007 song “Welcome To The East,” from Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant. According to TMZ.com, Blahzay Blahzay is suing for $2,000,000 as they claim that Jean and his management used the song without songwriting credits, and reportedly have ignored previous threats of legal action.
Wyclef Jean has been called out over sampling issues previously. In 2004, legendary producer Diamond D reported that Jean never cleared the Cymande “Dove” sample used on the title track from The Fugees’ The Score, forcing the producer to forfeit credit to the credit on the multi-platinum album.
Blahzay Blahzay has not released an album since their debut, Blah, Blah, Blah. Cuttin has since produced for Sean Price, Masta Killa and Thirstin Howl III. Next month, Wyclef Jean is expected to release an EP, If I Were President on Columbia/Sony Records.
First they sourced me last year, now I source them (probably the only time).
I post this because PF Cuttin is fam, go!!! DANGER!
Pathetic (Blahzay Blahzay). Not that I’m into Wyclef . . .
There is nothing pathetic about it. According to this article Blahzay gave Wyclef multiple chances to settle outside of court for using their sample. If you create something that someone else is taking from you in order to make money you deserve the respect and money that is due for your own hard work no matter how long ago it was originally created.