Home Coming Up Jay-Z And Timbaland Likely To be Sued on “Big Pimpin”!

Jay-Z And Timbaland Likely To be Sued on “Big Pimpin”!

May 6, 2011

jay_timbaland — Jay Z & Timbaland
Photo: V/ Images

Tuesday a federal judge granted the rights holders of the Egyptian film score sampled for “Big Pimpin'” permission to file a copyright lawsuit.

The children of Bollywood composer, Baligh Hamdy are likely to file a lawsuit against Jay-Z and/or Timbaland for sampling “Khosara, Khosara,” in the 2000 hit “Big Pimin’.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the Hamdy children—Osama Ahmed Fahmy—is already the plaintiff in a case against Shawn Carter, EMI Publishing, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, UMG Recordings, Warner Music and many others.

The Hamdy children licensed the rights to mechanically reproduce “Khosara, Khosara,” in 1995. Representatives from Jay-Z and Timbaland’s camp believe they secured the proper license to sample the song for their UGK collaboration. However, according to Tuesday’s ruling, they obtained “economic rights,” which allow for reproduction, performance and distribution of the song. The plaintiffs argue that sampling, looping and rhyming over the sample would have required the express permission of each of Hamdy’s four children.

A similarly odd interpretation of obscure, international copyright law, prevented Timbaland from getting sued for his use of a different Bollywood sample he used in Game’s 2005 single “Put You In The Game.”