lues musician Syl Johnson recently filed a lawsuit against the estate of the late Tupac Shakur and others for apparently not being paid royalties from the sampling of his songs.
Johnson (real name Sylvester Thompson), who performed with acts like Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in his heyday, along with his Syl-Zel Music and Twilight Records is alleging that he has not been compensated for several songs that have sampled his work. Among the songs that he is suing for are Tupac's "Peep Game," Michael Jackson's "*lo** On The Dance Floor" and Will Smith's "Who Stole The DJ." Johnson alleges that all three of the songs sampled his 1967 song "Different Strokes" and, despite the high profiles of all of the aforementioned artists, that he has not been paid any royalties from the tracks.
The suit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, also names KRS One and his Boogie Down Productions, Peedi Crack, Young Chris, N.W.A., Sony BMG, Universal Music Group andUniversal Publishing as defendants for also allegedly sampling the artist's work without compensation.
No representatives from any of the defendants named in the case have officially responded to the suit.
lues musician Syl Johnson recently filed a lawsuit against the estate of the late Tupac Shakur and others for apparently not being paid royalties from the sampling of his songs.
Johnson (real name Sylvester Thompson), who performed with acts like Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in his heyday, along with his Syl-Zel Music and Twilight Records is alleging that he has not been compensated for several songs that have sampled his work. Among the songs that he is suing for are Tupac's "Peep Game," Michael Jackson's "*lo** On The Dance Floor" and Will Smith's "Who Stole The DJ." Johnson alleges that all three of the songs sampled his 1967 song "Different Strokes" and, despite the high profiles of all of the aforementioned artists, that he has not been paid any royalties from the tracks.
The suit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages, also names KRS One and his Boogie Down Productions, Peedi Crack, Young Chris, N.W.A., Sony BMG, Universal Music Group andUniversal Publishing as defendants for also allegedly sampling the artist's work without compensation.
No representatives from any of the defendants named in the case have officially responded to the suit.