In hip-hop there is fine line between paying homage to a fellow emcee and biting an emcee’s style or lyrics.
According to Chicago-based group Hotstylz, superstar rapper Eminem has crossed that line.
On Dec. 30, group member Raymond Jones, aka Raydio G, filed an $8 million copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that Slim Shady used a 25-second sample of their 2007 Yung Joc-assisted sleeper hit “Lookin’ Boy” without permission in his “Rap God” single from the 2013 album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Some have called into question the timing of the lawsuit since Em’s song was released some 14 months ago and it appears Jones was aware of the song back then, according to the tweet below that he retweeted shortly after it was released:
This isn’t the first case of a rapper crying foul against a fellow rapper for biting.
Drake recently paid rap veteran Rappin’ 4-Tay a pretty penny when the Bay Area-based emcee felt the “0 to 100” rapper crossed that line by mirroring a verse from 4-Tay’s 1994 hit “Playaz Club” a little too closely on his guest verse on YG’s breakout smash “Who Do You Love.”
Hip-hop heavyweight Jay Z has been accused more than once of “borrowing” lyrics from his Brooklyn counterpart, Notorious B.I.G., in many of his hits throughout the years. Jay addressed the chatter in 2003’s “What More Can I Say” remarking “(If) I say a B.I.G. verse, I’m only bigging up my brother.”
So far there has been no word from Eminem’s camp on the matter.
