Bob James Suing Madlib for uncleared samples

[DoomzdayzV]

I blame internet hiphop nerds who post every sample from every song (when its not listed on record) I know most of want to know the OG sample, but in the long run it aint helping.

thats it. As a producer, what was in your crates used to be sacred. that "WhoSampled" site is a fukking cancer and needs to shut down.

 

[doublenegative]

This is why all of my music is free.

 

[TrifeGod]

Madlib had to be zooted as fukk not to clear tihs particular sample

i cant get mad at Mad or Bob over this im so confused

 

[mobbinfms]

cuz aint no receipts for that albums purchases. so..

All that will come out in discovery though...

 

[Big Boss]

 

[mobbinfms]

People could make original stuff that sounds like samples if they don't wanna be lazy. Look at Adrian Younge

I agree on both sides. Madlib and Dilla were noted for not putting sample credits on records because some of the stuff they were sampling cost dough to get cleared. Plus Madlib is just about finding dope samples. Business shyt for later. Also, Sparkdala is mad old. It's not new. That song is atleast 5 years old or older. He has evolve into chopping up stuff to point where it's hard to tell where it's from. Which is another thing him and Dilla were trying to do. And Madlib isn't lazy, dude plays like a host of instruments and can produce. The song is old as hell, and they just released that record like 2 years ago on stones throw through itunes but that song been on tapes for years.


Now it would be nice if their acts would embrace that a new group of people are digging their music and giving it to a younger generation. As a producer myself, I've found myself becoming fans of the artist i sampled and brought records just to listen to their music not to look for samples. And it's not stealing. For samplers its just looking for hot sounds from the records we love. Rememeber hip hop started out as a genre for underprivileged youths who couldn't afford piano lessons and learn how to play instruments. So we hear the sounds of Bobs James and be like damn I wish I could play that or afford to hire him but since I cant, fukk it let me flip it.


I mean I also wish these guys who see it as an art form itself. Sampling sometimes is hard as fukk. To chop something up and create something new out of it. Picking sounds from different records from different genre with different tempos and make it fit and sound dope is art. It's beauty. We not stealing. We making art too dammit

Anyone who says this isn't art is getting punched in the face just for living

Also, Dj Design produced this....not Madlib.

OP needs to be updated.
So Madlib just got sued for rhyming on the track basically? Madlib should get on the witness stand and claim he'd never heard Nautilus before and how was he supposed to know

thats it. As a producer, what was in your crates used to be sacred. that "WhoSampled" site is a fukking cancer and needs to shut down.

I dapped this post b/c I don't want the art to suffer b/c of lawsuits. Sampling laws have a chilling effect on the creation of art and need to be completely overhauled. That being said...I love that website

 

[George's Dilemma]

Anyone who says this isn't art is getting punched in the face just for living


OP needs to be updated.
So Madlib just got sued for rhyming on the track basically? Madlib should get on the witness stand and claim he'd never heard Nautilus before and how was he supposed to know

I dapped this post b/c I don't want the art to suffer b/c of lawsuits. Sampling laws have a chilling effect on the creation of art and need to be completely overhauled. That being said...I love that website

I love that site too. I'm not an artist, but I heavily appreciate music from all genres and exploring samples has led me to appreciate music that I otherwise would have never been exposed to if not for someone like Madlib sampling it. The thing that surprises me about the suit is, how much money does Bob James expect to get out of this? Madlib has been in the game like what? 15-20 years or so? And if you combine the sales of ALL his projects, the total still wouldn't equal a gold certified record. How many units did that Freddie Gibbs project push? I'm sure they didn't cake that much off of it. Probably made more money for shows than what the project sold for. That said, this lawsuit to me is like a lemon farmer suing a kid on the corner earning school money by selling lemonade. Most kids in this generation wouldn't know who Bob James is if it wasn't for sampling. If he anything he should be somewhat appreciative as sampling can be likened to homage, especially when there's hardley any if any money at all being made off of it.

 

[Vinny Lupton]

Anyone who says this isn't art is getting punched in the face just for living

You aint punching nobody, you're probably 5 foot 2 like Prodigy. neg people because they suggest musicians learn how to play music breeds

 

[Vinny Lupton]

Great response, you really proved me wrong there

 

[Trapped]

Some of you are looking at this from a HipHop fan's perspective, so to you, James' lawsuit is unfair and stupid etc...

But from James' perspective, he has every right to sue if he hadn't been asked to allow the use of the sample and get compensated for it, even if it's some obscure underground backpacking song. I'm not saying he should get everything, but at least half of what they made should belong to him.

 

[Alcantara]

thats it. As a producer, what was in your crates used to be sacred. that "WhoSampled" site is a fukking cancer and needs to shut down.

WhoSampled.com has been in public beta for a year, and officially launches today. Founded by Nadav Poraz, the community-driven site focuses on sampled music and cover versions providing side-by-side embedded video for comparison. WhoSampled users can buy the songs or albums featured on the site, either as a download, CD or vinyl. Interestingly, most people buy the original track, rather than the new one.

Poraz has the ideal background, it seems – he’s a software developer and a one-time producer/DJ who ran what he describes as a tiny independent record label. Originally from Israel, he moved to London nine years ago and ended up doing an MBA at London’s Imperial College, which pushed him down the entrepreneurial path.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

fukk!



Bob James has been on the hip-hop team forever! I always heard he didn't mind as long as you didn't fukk with his tempo. I always heard he kinda didn't fukk with sampling if they changed his original tempo too much for some reason. I haven't checked the beat he's suing for. Hopefully Madlib will do what I think he'll do: say fukk it and keep cranking out dope sample beats.

thats it. As a producer, what was in your crates used to be sacred. that "WhoSampled" site is a fukking cancer and needs to shut down.

Right? Preem called it in '98. Skip to 15:30

 

[TheDarceKnight]

So I don't have to make a thread boring anyone with my special interests - does anyone have any insight on the cost of clearing a sample?

I don't wanna speak out too much. Honestly I think it can vary a lot. If someone owns it, they can straight up refuse, or basically ask anything they want. I'm pretty sure there has to be some formula based on the song's popularity, etc. Like I said, I always heard Bib James was cool if the tempo wasn't fukked with to much. Some other weird ones would be Aretha Franklin insisting on no cursing. That's why Kanye's School Spirit is edited. Same goes for DMX's Slippin, and whoever they sampled for that. 9th Wonder said one Isley brother is pretty cool about it but another one isn't.

I'd like to know more about the actual cost too. There's so many sampled beats out there that don't get cleared, you gotta figure some original artists know they were sampled and just know there's no money in it to sue. Especially if you're some German prog rock band or a low-tier soul group from the 70's. shyt, didn't Shirley Bassey try to sue Kanye and she didn't even know that didn't own her own song? Like, Diamond Are Forever got cleared without her even knowing, since she didn't own it? I'm pretty sure that happened.

Labels used to have people whose entire job was dedicated to clearing samples. I wonder if that's still a thing. Probably not, right? Most sampled beats are on indie releases these days, and aren't cleared to begin with.

As for this issue, I see it both ways. I always have. Someone that creates something should get credited and/or paid for their work if it contributes to another piece of art, especially if money is made. On the other hand I love the culture of digging, and once you've put music out there, I feel it sort of isn't yours anymore, and people should be free to use it for whatever creative purpose they wish. Whether it's just inspiration, chopping it to bits, or outright looping it.

Real talk I try to never name samples on this board. if someone asks for one and I know it, I try to PM it. I'd hate to be the reason one of my favorite producers got sued. You never know who's looking. BTW Nautilus has been used a million times and hasn't been cleared A LOT! I wonder if James is planning to sue more?

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Sparkdala came from a DJ Design 12" which was originally released in 2001 on Stones Throw. It was reissued on the Yezzir Whatever compilation a couple of years ago, which is a collection of Quasimoto B-Sides/non-album tracks/unreleased joints.

Also, Dj Design produced this....not Madlib.

Exactly. This is some petty shyt. And I won't name names, but I can think of a few Nautilus samples that weren't cleared that probably made more money and are much more relevant

 

[Ku$h Parker]

@ the Original Sample,I can hear like 5 Songs from it