Tuff City Records has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Universal Music Publishing Group over Mary J. Blige's 1992 hit 'Real Love,' alleging unauthorized use of a sample from the Honey Drippers' 1973 funk song "Impeach the President."

Photo Credit: Condé Nast / Vogue Taiwan / CC by 3.0

The lawsuit, filed on April 4 in Manhattan federal court, claims that despite repeated notifications about the uncleared sample, Universal Music Publishing has failed to address the issue. While UMG Recordings has already reached an agreement regarding the master recording rights, the publishing arm has not secured rights for the underlying composition.

Key points about the lawsuit:

• Mary J. Blige is not named as a defendant
• The sample in question is a drum break from "Impeach the President"
• UMG Recordings has already settled their portion of the rights
• Universal Music Publishing Group has allegedly refused to negotiate

This isn't Tuff City's first legal action over "Impeach the President." In 1991, they sued Sony Music and Def Jam over unauthorized sampling in LL Cool J's tracks, marking one of the first major sampling lawsuits in hip-hop history. The case was eventually settled for undisclosed terms.

Tuff City Records has a history of copyright litigation, having previously sued artists including Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera, Beastie Boys, and Frank Ocean. However, some cases have backfired, such as their 2018 lawsuit against the Beastie Boys, where they were ordered to repay substantial legal fees for filing a merit-less case.

The drum break from "Impeach the President" remains one of hip-hop's most sampled elements, appearing in works by 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Dr. Dre, Run-DMC, and recently, Doja Cat.

Related Articles

Previous Articles