Truth Hurts

Home

News | Biography | Related Links | Contact Me
News

Truth Hurts, Dr. Dre stung with $500 million lawsuit over Addictive

Truth Hurts, and the lawsuit she's just been slapped with can't feel too good, either. An Indian film and music company is suing the R&B songstress and her Associated record labels to the use of an unlicensed sample on Addictive, the first single from Truth Hurts debut LP, Truthfuly Speaking. A lawyer retained by the Bombay-based Saregama India Limited filed a copy right infringement lawsuit, which names as defendants Truth Hurts, Interscope Records, its parent company Universal music group, the album's producer Dr. Dre and his imprint Aftermath Records, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, on September 12. Addictive uses a sample of the 20-year-old song Thoda Resham Lagta Hai by the popular Indian artist Lata Mangeshkar without permission from copyright holder saregame India Ltd., The company's attorney Dedra S. Davis claims. Not only was a snippet of Mangeshkar's soaring vocals borrowed, but the hook, melody and rhythm were also lifted, Davis alleges. When you hear it, it's like, oh my God, they didn't even try to get original with it, she said. [They didn't] try to change it up or anything like that. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for November 22. Saregama India Ltd. has a British subsidiary branch with in the court's jurisdiction in Texas, which accounts for why the case is being heard in Houston. Davis said she issued Universal music group a cease-and-desist letter prior to filing the suit, which the label conglomerate ignored. Additionally, seregama India Ltd's copyright manager asked UMG to stop using the sample because the lyrics of Addictive, in which rapper Rakim drops the f-bomb in his rhymes and Truth sings the lines I like it rough and he makes me scream, were potentially offensive to some Indians cultural and religious sensibilities. This letter only serves as evidence that UMG was made aware of seregama India's claim as copyright holders of the song, and the objectionable contant doesn't factor into the lawsuit. Coincidentally, UMG's foreign subsidiary Universal India sought and was granted permission to license the song for an unrelated use as a cover 12 days before Truthfully speaking was released June 26, furthering the suit's claim that the defendants clearly, and admittedly knew their activities were, and currently are, infringing on [seragama's] copyrighted work. A Universal music group spokesperson had no comment on the matter. The 90-year-old production and distribution company is seeking monetary damages based on profits from the sale of Truthfully Speaking, the single Addictive, attorney's fees, and punitive damages amounting to $500 million. Truthfully speaking has sold more than 273,000 copies, according to soundscan. The complaint states that the defendants infringing conduct has also caused, and is csusing, substantial and irreparable injury and damage to [saregama] in an amount not capable of determination, and, unless restrained, will cause further irreparable injury, leaving the plaintiffs with no adequate remedy at law. DJ Quick, who produced Addictive, said that he stumbled upon the track one night on television. I woke up one morning, I turned on the tv and landed on this Hindi channel and just turned it up real loud, Quik explained this past summer. There was a commercial on and I just got up and went into the bathroom and started brushing my teeth. I'm brushing, and before I knew it, I was grooving. [The beat on the tv] was just in my body. I went back in there and looked at the tv, there was a girl on there bellydancing, just like real fly. So I pushed record on the vcr.
 
Addictive tearin up Europiz chartz!!!
Addictive #9 in Germany- Truth Hurts has shot straight to the top 10 of the German charts. At #9 is the song Addictive from Shari Watson Ft. Rakim.
 
Other charts:
UK: #17 (last week #9)
HOL: #3 (last week #4)
BEL: #16 (new)
 

Enter supporting content here