RZA says there should be a limit on how much an artist can recover after parts of their songs were sampled without consent.
After Pharrell and Robin Thicke
were sued for $7.3 million the question of how much artists or their
estates can recover via a copyright lawsuit has been brought to a
forefront.
Recently at SXSW, Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA
spoke about the recent verdict as one of the festival's headlining
speakers and says that while artists who inspire should be paid, there
should be a limit to how much they make, especially if the money isn't
actually going to the artist.
“Art is something that’s made to inspire the future," he said during his stay in Austin, according to the Daily Beast.
"If you utilize somebody’s artistic expression blatantly, to [the
point] where it’s an identifiable thing, then there should be some sort
of compensation to the person who inspires you.” Specifically, the
Shaolin producer called for a 50% cap for retroactive payments of
sampled material.
“Even though I use his portion as an instrument—because the sampler is an
instrument—he should not be able to come in and take 100 percent of my
song," he said in reference to an example he gave about appropriating
Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." "The most he should get is 50 percent.
There should be a cut off. Fifty percent is the most.”
Finally, RZA spoke on his own issues in dealing with copyright infringements. In 2013, he faced a lawsuit and subsequently countersued over an alleged sample he used from the 1970s Japanese exploitation flick Wandering Ginza Butterfly.
“I’ve been in situations where I’ve sampled something and the
original copyright holder took 90 percent,” he said in reflection. “That
means they ignored all the programming, drumming, keyboard playing I
played on top of it, they ignored every lyric, every hook, everything
that we built to make it a song. And we wound up selling more copies
than the sample version—but yet they took 90 percent of the song.”
The suit alleges that the label cheated artists out of royalties.
Universal Music Group is close to settling a court case that states the company cheated artists out of digital royalties.
“The putative class action from artists including Chuck D. of Public Enemy, Rick James
(by way of trust), Dave Mason of Traffic, Whitesnake, Andres Titus of
Black Sheep, Ron Tyson of The Temptations, among others, alleges that
record labels should be treating digital download income off of venues
like Apple's iTunes as ‘licenses’ rather than ‘sales,’” The Hollywood Reporter says. “By accounting the other way, the artists get about 15 percent of collected income rather than 50 percent they allege is due.”
UMG
is to submit a settlement for approval by April 10. If the settlement
goes through, UMG will be added to the list of major labels who have had
to pay out.
“Following settlements by Warner Music and Sony, UMG's deal if
approved would mean that all of the record majors have resolved claims
following the 2010 appellate ruling in F.B.T. Productions v. Aftermath — dealing with Eminem
songs — which suggested that ‘licenses’ rather than ‘sales’ were the
more appropriate accounting treatment in an era where record labels no
longer spend huge amounts on packaging physical CDs,” The Hollywood
Reporter says.
The distinction between licenses and sales was in question during an a case involving Eminem's producers and Aftermath.
“A 2010 ruling made a distinction between a licensing and a sales
provision when determining royalty payments from digital downloading
services such as Amazon.com and iTunes,” HipHopDX reported in
2010. “According to sources familiar with the case, those small changes
in language could add up to tens of millions of dollars in royalty
payments.”
The size of the UMG's settlement has not yet been commented on.
Empire also snagged the top spot on the Billboard album charts this week.
Fox's hit TV show Empire ended its pristine season Wednesday (March 18) in record fashion. Deadline
reports that the two-hour season finale raked in 16.7 million viewers.
The Hip Hop-oriented family drama has increased its viewership since its
debut in early January, an unprecedented feat.
Among the coveted 18-49 age bracket, Empire's finale drew a 6.5 rating.
Its been a decade since a new series on any broadcast network has
achieved similar success. In 2005, the first season of Shonda Rhimes' Grey’s Anatomy drew close to as many viewers on ABC.
Empire extended its broadcast on the network for the final
episode, adding an additional hour to showcase several guest stars. Rita
Ora, Jennifer Hudson, Patti LaBelle, and Snoop Dogg appeared in the finale.
Mayday’s Wrekonize, Potluck and Swollen Members’ Prevail are slated to embark upon “The Pre-Hangover Tour” in May and June, according to a press release.
"Good smoke meets good drink when Potluck and I come into town,” Wrekonize
says in an exclusive statement to HipHopDX. "I’m looking forward to
this run. I know the homies from Potluck know how to throw a great party
and I'm looking forward to bringing my energy to that. There are a lot
of cities that I still haven't brought my solo set to and this will fix
that. See you at the bar.”
Potluck is working on its #StonerProblems album as it prepares for the tour.
"We've been locked up in the studio
putting the final touches on a new album, so we're ready to get back out
on the road, "1Ton from Potluck says. "All the acts on this tour are
Hip Hop veterans that have incredible live shows and each artist brings
something completely different to the bill. Wrek is known as an avid
lover of Jack Daniels and we love Crown Royal, so we dubbed this run
'The Pre-Hangover Tour' because we're bringing the party every night.”
The idea for the "Concert for
Justice" came from two sophomores – Matt Geffen and Timmy Stabler – at
Marin Academy in San Rafael, California.
A group of San Francisco high school students have partnered with the Bay Area production company HGMNY to host a benefit concert for Eric Garner, an unarmed African-American man who was murdered by New York's Police Department on Staten Island last year.
HGMNY and the students have enlisted a handful of Hip Hop artists to perform, including headliners Casey Veggies and Dizzy Wright.
The idea for the "Concert for Justice" came from two
sophomores – Matt Geffen and Timmy Stabler – at Marin Academy in San
Rafael, California.
After linking up with Dylan Macturk, co-founder of HGMNY, their plan began to materialize.
“‘Concert for Justice’ is a night to reflect on civil injustices such as the deaths of EricGarner,
Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Oscar Grant and other victims of civil
injustice through the unparalleled power of music," Geffen says in a
statement regarding the event. "As we tried to make sense of the tragic
events in Staten Island and elsewhere, we found some consolation in the
work of the artists and individuals dedicated to using their influence
to promote change and equality. Eric left behind a wife, six children and two grandchildren. What do they do now?"
While the concert will recognize many victims of police
brutality, Geffen, Stabler, Macturk and HGMNY are looking to raise funds
for the Garner family specifically.
The "Concert for Justice" is slated to be held at The New Parish in Oakland, California April 9. Dizzy Wright and Casey Veggies will headline the show and Bay area rapper Bastiengoat is also scheduled to perform.
For more information and the full list of performers, please visit: ConcertForJustice.
Game says “the old me was wack” while speaking on listening to his debut album, "The Documentary."
After initially announcing, via Instagram, a January release for his sixth studio album, The Documentary 2, Compton, California rapper Game
has now revealed that the album will be out this summer. The West Coast
wordsmith shared the news during a recent interview with Revolt TV.
He announced that The Documentary 2 will be released on June
30, which also serves as his son’s birthday. He then explained that the
album is one that could have been released immediately after The Documentary, but says 10 years later is “perfectly fine.”
“I feel like I could have released it after The Documentary
1, but…You know how they say, ‘Things just happen for a reason?’ 10
years later seemed perfectly fine,” Game said. “I mean, it’s my sixth
album. My sixth solo album and I think that the 10th anniversary is
huge, so why not put it out 10 years later? And then the actual Documentary 2
is gonna drop on my son’s birthday, June 30. Cause I think it’s big.
And then his birthday falls on a Tuesday, which is the day that music is
released to the world.”
Game later spoke on being his toughest critic and even revealed that
“the old me was wack,” while speaking on revisiting his debut album.
“When I listen to my first album and everybody thinks it’s so
amazing, but I think I’m better than that,” he said. “I listen to it and
I hear all the flaws and the young me. And I’m like ‘Man, I would have
never did this song like that today.’ I was just listening to it today.
Cause I got all these 10th anniversary concerts.
And so, I have to learn all these songs. Cause I don’t listen to myself
on a daily basis. It is the hardest thing in the world. But the old me
was wack. I’m dope now.”
As a father of four, Game spoke on his children serving as his fuel
and motivation. He also revealed that being a father feels like it’s his
calling.
“Being a father and making music that’s been, since the beginning of
my career that’s been my everyday motivation,” the rapper said. “Waking
up knowing that I have a job that I can stay focused [on]. I use my kids
for energy. So, I look at them and I’ll go out and we’ll be talking
about The Documentary 30th anniversary if I use them for the
fuel and motivation. I love my kids dearly. Being a father I think
that’s something that I was—that’s my calling. So, I got four kids. I
love ‘em to death. I just use them for the motivation to keep going.”
Slaine teams with two-thirds of House Of Pain for the "House Of Slaine" mixtape.
Slaine has partnered with House of Pain members Danny Boy and DJ Lethal for Danny Boy Presents The House of Slaine Mixtape (Mixed By DJ Frank White), a mixtape premiering on HipHopDX today (March 17).
The trio released the project today as a nod to St. Patrick’s Day. The House of Slaine Mixtape was created for Slaine’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party in Boston, which is scheduled to be held tonight at The Middle East with Apathy and Rite Hook.
House Of Pain, which emerged in 1992 with
its platinum “Jump Around” single and platinum eponymous album, paid
homage to its group member’s Irish roots in it videos, on its art work
and with its promotional material.
DJ Lethal handled much of the production on The House of Slaine Mixtape, which features appearances from ILL BILL, Termanology, Apathy and Sick Jacken.
The Danny Boy Presents The House of Slaine Mixtape (Mixed By DJ Frank White) stream is as follows:
The
Beastie Boys join Eminem, 2Pac, Outkast, MC Hammer and The Notorious
B.I.G. as the only Hip Hop artists to reach diamond status.
Nearly three decades after its debut, the Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill album has been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The seminal album, which was initially released in 1986 under Def Jam
Records, has sold over 10 million copies as of March 4, 2015
In '86, Licensed To Ill became the first Hip Hop album to top Billboard charts. One year later, it was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz worked closely with producer Rick Rubin
and the head of Def Jam at the time, Russell Simmons to complete the
album. Both Run and DMC from Run DMC are credited as contributors to the
album, as well.
The trio was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012,
becoming the third Hip Hop associated act to achieve the feat. One month
later, Adam Yauch passed away due to cancer of the parotid salivary gland. Following his death, Licensed To Ill and other Beastie Boys' albums saw an increase in sales and chart position on Billboard.
The Beastie Boys join Eminem, 2Pac, Outkast, MC Hammer and The
Notorious B.I.G. as the only Hip Hop artists to reach diamond status.
An American Education is a coming of age story that follows protagonist Rocco D'Amato as he enters the world of drugs, money and sex from a very young age. Rocco's universe parallels that of the working man, who he considers a sucker for working hard with little pay. He is out to prove that he can have the money, power and respect, but he is forced to make a change when the reality of his illegal business catches up to him.
Everybody is excited over the new Kendrick Lamar album, but there is
another opus on the horizon for 2015. Scarface has announced that he
will release a new album this spring, titled Deeply Rooted.
Scarface’s last album was the 2008 classic Emeritus.
The Houston rapper put the announcement in a video.
Atmosphere, Ice Cube and Ludacris are also slated to perform at the Minnesota event.
J. Cole, Big Sean,
Logic, Atmosphere, Ice Cube and Ludacris are among the acts slated to
perform at the eighth-Annual Soundset Festival, according to a press
release.
The festival is scheduled to take place at Canterbury
Park in Shakopee, Minnesota Sunday May 24, 2015. Doors are set to open
at 11 am and the event is scheduled to take place rain or shine.
Other confirmed artists for Soundset 2015 include Yelawolf,
Dilated Peoples, Brother Ali, Vic Mensa, Aesop Rock with Rob Sonic
& DJ Abilities, Dessa (of Doomtree), DJ Jazzy Jay, Hopsin, Smif-N-Wessun, DJ Babu, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib and Vince Staples.
The event is slated to feature two main
stages, a Fifth Element stage, a freestyle session, a graffiti
showcase, a skateboard showdown and more than 40 artists performing.
J. Cole will be making his first appearance at the event, while Atmosphere is celebrating the 2014 release of its Southsiders album.
Tickets are slated to go on sale March 7 at 11 am CST at ticketweb.com and at Fifth Element.
An estimated 30,000 people attended the 2014 edition of Soundset, which is presented by Rhymesayers Entertainment and Rose this year.
Snoop Dogg and Pharrell have teamed up for a collaborative album, according to Snoop.
“It’s a great record me and Pharrell did from top to bottom," Snoop Dogg says in an interview with MTV's
Nadeska Alexis. "It feels good and I’m happy to be back in the studio
working with one of my favorite producers and homeboys."
Snoop says the album is set to be a departure from the material the duo has done in the past.
"It’s different," Snoop says. "It’s completely different than anything we’ve ever done. It feels good, sounds good, looks good.”
Stevie Wonder and Charlie Wilson are among the featured featured
guests slated to appear on the album. The album title and release date
has not be revealed.
In June, Pharrell spoke about the album.
"Snoop's album is better than mine," Pharrell said in an interview with Los Angeles radio station Power 106's Big Boy's Neighborhood. "It's
Snoop Dogg. You're gonna bug out from the approach of what we did.
We're almost done. The songs are done. Now I'm just adding the finishing
touches...But dude. Snoop's album is better than mine."
Snoop and Pharrell have collaborated on several hits, including "Beautiful."
The second portion of G-Unit's collection of new music appears to be on the way.
Last year, the collective reunited to release The Beauty of Independence, a six-track EP, stuffed with hard-hitting beats and rhymes just as tough.
Now, the Unit is set to unleash another six tracks on its forthcoming The Beast Is G-Unit EP.
50 Cent has unveiled the cover art for the EP via Instagram and the tracklisting is now available, courtesy of iTunes New Zealand.The mixtape is scheduled to be released on March 3. The Beast Is G-Unit cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
1. Ballin’
2. I’m Grown
3. Bring My Bottles
4. Doper Than My Last One
5. Boy Boy
6. Choose One (January 26, 2015) Update: G-Unit has unleashed its second EP since the group settled their differences and reunited last year. The Beast Is G-Unit arrives seven months after the revitalized collective released its initial comeback EP, The Beauty Of Independence.
There are no features on the project, but the crew did enlist Swiff D, Jake One and !llmind for production.
Fif, Lloyd Banks, Kidd Kidd, Young Buck and Tony Yayo are expected to release their solo projects soon. The Beast Is G-Unit is available for purchase via iTunes.
Rone is slated to battle The Saurus at KOTD’s “Back To Basics."
KOTD’s “Back To Basics” event is slated to take place April 18 in Los Angeles, according to BattleRap.com.
Rone’s face-off with The Saurus is the
first announced battle, one that the event’s trailer says will
feature, "No lav mics. No stage. No entourage. No hosts. Just battles.
Pit format.”
"We're going back to basics as a result
of huge events not pleasing the fans and battles ultimately suffering
because of it,” KOTD staff/cameraman/editor Kyle "Avocado” Gray said
during an exclusive interview with BattleRap.com.
"The disconnect that the stage creates between the fans and the battles
takes away the raw energy that we all grew up loving with battle rap."
An American Education is a coming of age story that follows protagonist
Rocco D'Amato as he enters the world of drugs, money and sex from a very
young age. Rocco's universe parallels that of the working man, who he
considers a sucker for working hard with little pay. He is out to prove
that he can have the money, power and respect, but he is forced to make a
change when the reality of his illegal business catches up to him.
The New York event is slated to feature Chess battle DNA.
URL has announced its “Rookies Vs Vets” card, according to a story on BattleRap.com.
The event is slated to feature
established vets battle up-and-coming rhymers. Among the battles slated
to take place are Chess against DNA, John John Da Don against Prep and
Charlie Clips going against T-Top.
URL’s “Rookies Vs Vets” is slated to take
place March 28 at the Gramercy Theatre at 127 E 23rd Street in New
York. Doors are scheduled to open at 1 pm EST.
For nearly a decade, Hot 97 was the only station in NYC to consistently play current Hip Hop and R&B music.
Hip Hop fans in New York City appear to prefer listening to WWPR Power 105.1 over the station's rival, WQHT Hot 97.
The New York Daily News has reported that January's Nielson ratings show Power 105.1 has inched ahead of Hot 97 in the overall percentage of audience.
Power raked in 3.9% of the audience last month, while Hot
garnered just 2.8%. The publication also states that Power's morning
show – "The Breakfast Club" – has a "big lead" over its competitor, "Ebro in the Morning."
Listeners between the ages of 25-to-54, in particular, are choosing to turn the dial to Power 105.1 more frequently.
For nearly a decade, Hot 97 was the only station in NYC to
consistently play current Hip Hop and R&B music. But ever
since Power 105.1 shifted to its current urban contemporary format in
2002, the stations have dueled on the airwaves, swapping personalities and featuring their respective hosts to feud with one another – on and off the air.
Hot 97 has revamped its roster in recent years. They've added former program director Ebro Darden to the morning show and replaced Angie Martinez with Nessa during the coveted afternoon drive time slot (3 PM - 7 PM).
Perhaps the loss of Martinez, in addition to several DJ departures – Cipha Sounds, Mister Cee and Big Dennis Rivera – has taken a toll on the station that says it is "Where Hip Hop Lives."
For more Hot 97 & Power 105.1 coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
Now that radio personality Funkmaster Flex has successfully assisted in reuniting those in Dipset thanks to an upcoming tour, the Hot 97 host now hopes to reunite yet another group. While speaking with HipHopWired.com,
Flex revealed that he’s currently working on reuniting those in The
Fugees. He didn’t speak in-depth on his progress with the reunion, but
did state that he’s currently “speaking to the members” of the group.
In addition to speaking with The Fugees,
Flex says he has also worked with G-Unit on touring possibilities and
is working with a handful of newcomers including Joey Bada$$ and Troy
Ave.
“I’m doing a couple of things actually,” Funkmaster Flex said. “One
is—Dipset is a group I was passionate about. I wanted to see together.
The Fugees is another group that I been working on. Speaking to the
members. I’m also working on G-Unit. Even though G-Unit’s together. I
don’t think that they’ve toured properly…And those are the artists we
love and have this current, nostalgic feel to them. But I’m also like
Fetty Wap, Troy Ave, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, I’m doing something.
Meeting with them. I mean, we gonna go on the road. Do a couple of
things.”
Although Funkmaster Flex may have lent his assistance when it
concerned reuniting those in Dipset, he says he has had little to no
involvement with the creation of new music from the collective of
Harlem, New York rappers.
“Dipset always creates their own new music,” he said. “They just play
it for me as they go along. And they don’t play it to me for approval,
they just play it. Or I stumble on to it when they’re listening to beats
or something. And I just go ‘Yeah, I love it.’ You know? Or I say ‘I
don’t love it.’ Either one, that doesn’t change what they’re going to
do. But I think the only difference here is we’re going on the road
together. I’m gonna be playing in the venues. They’re gonna be
performing…They got a great formula now. They understand themselves.
They always did, but now they understand. I think they’ve worked out
among themselves how they want to produce or get their music out.”
At the top of this year, Funkmaster Flex revealed via Instagram that
Dipset will take part in a five-club reunion tour this year and will
also release a mixtape.
The legendary audio-engineer also reflects on his experience as a teacher.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has tapped renowned audio engineer, professor and DJ Young Guru for the first installment of its "Hip Hop Speaker" series.
MIT's newly founded “Hip Hop Speaker" programming aims
to pair leaders in Hip Hop with faculty and students at the university
for insightful dialogue.
Guru is
scheduled to lecture at the prestigious university in Cambridge,
Massachusetts next month. He'll reflect on the growing gap between the
intentions and final execution of innovation and the ultimate execution
as design and tech continue to create and recreate new realities. Guru
is also slated to shed light on how design and innovation impacted music
and how that impact is now spreading to other aspects of design,
innovation and tech.
HipHopDX recently spoke with the music-educator about his
teaching endeavors and the reception he has received from students in
the classroom.
"Teaching is one of the things I've grown to love," he says during an
interview with HipHopDX. "My focus isn't just on engineering, even
though a lot of my class does cover that. They vary in range of the
subject matter... We cover digital audio workstation, all the way to
music history to critiquing the student's songs and performances. It
varies."
Guru says that the students "love it"
and that he's received a "warm reception" thus far. He's been asked to
cater to students that aspire to perform a multitude of genres, such as
bluegrass and alternative music.
In 2013, the Grammy-nominated audio engineer teamed with Grammy U
to speak at 13 different schools – including New York University,
Loyola University and Drexel, among others – about the importance of his
craft and music creation.
Guru believes it's "inevitable"– because the genre is getting older – that more-and-more universities are choosing to embrace Hip Hop and add it to the curriculum.
"It's just the normal maturation of what the genre should go through
in terms of being studied," he says. "It's so rich with lyrics that
there's so much to study."
In terms of grading his own teaching methods, Guru will leave that
for the students. The qualifications of a "good teacher" in Guru's book
means having the ability to explain subject matter in different ways and
adjusting to multiple learning styles.
"How good of a teacher you are depends on how you can take a concept
and break it down," he says. "I always say that, 'If you truly
understand a concept you can explain it to a baby'...That's the whole
point, is figuring out your students, and waiting for that moment when
you can visually see it when the light bulb goes off and they understand
it."
Guru is scheduled to present his "Design and Destruction" lecture to MIT students on Friday, March 6.
