Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’” Could Lead To Big Lawsuit

Think about the people who “like” Hip-Hop, but don’t “love” Hip Hop. Pending they do not pay rent for a house under a rock somewhere, chances are they have heard of Jay-Z. And asking them to name some of his records, you’ll probably get a list consisting of some combination of songs like “Hard Knock Life,” “Empire State Of Mind,” “I Just Wanna Love You,” “H to the Izzo” and “Hey Papi.” Another one of those grossly popular smash records from Hov they’d likely name is his classic collaboration with Bun B and Pimp C, “Big Pimpin’.”
Well, 11 years after said song dominated the airwaves and video countdowns, Jay may be finding himself in legal hot water because of its success.

Rapper Jay-Z could end up in court over a new lawsuit that claims the rap mogul illegally used a sample in his hit 2000 song “Big Pimpin.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jay-Z is being sued by the family of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, who wrote the song “Khosara, Khosara” for a 1957 Egyptian film named Fata Ahlami.
Hamdi’s children are suing EMI, MTV, Paramount Pictures, UMG and Warner Music over the track.
Although Jay-Z’s team obtained a license to use the song under United Statescopyright law, the lawsuit claims he didn’t have the proper rights to loop and rap over the sample.
The lawsuit claims that although Jay-Z obtained a license to use the sample, he didn’t have the rights to loop the sample and rap over it under Egyptian copyright laws.