The most overrated rapper in recent memory, one Lil Wayne, has been sued by ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., after the publishing company discovered the he had appropriated a track on his recent release, Tha Carter III, from a Rolling Stones track without obtaining permission.
According to officials at ABKCO, whose music publishing division owns the rights to several Rolling Stones tracks—and also successfully sued The Verve over the much-publicized “Bittersweet Symphony” lawsuit of 1998—”‘Playing With Fire’ is a clear derivative of the Rolling Stones song with the original lyrics and music altered in a recognizable way.” Lyrics were reworked, though it’s still very obvious that they were directly taken from the original writing by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. As the original track goes, “But don’t play with me, ’cause you’re playing with fire,” Weezy raps on his version, “But you can’t blame me if I set this stage on fire.”
Weezy, the producers of the track and record labels Cash Money and Universal were named as defendants in the case, which also states that the track uses “explicit, sexist and offensive language,” which could mislead the public into thinking that the Rolling Stones approved the reworked track.
I think it goes without saying that this has certainly dealt a mighty blow to Lil Wayne and his career, which has lasted much longer than the fifteen minutes that he actually deserved (and that fifteen minutes actually came in 1999 when he rapped the chorus for “Bling Bling”). I think I speak for everyone when I say that Lil Wayne should do the right thing and quit music forever. I think he would make a good Scientologist, as his rise to fame is about as confoundingly absurd as L. Ron Hubbard’s space opera concept.
(MSNBC.com)
