A trial is set to begin in Los Angeles today to resolve a dispute between the heir of an Egyptian composer and rapper Jay-Z over a 1957 flute sample used in the music mogul’s hip-hop hit “Big Pimpin’.”
Osama Ahmed Fahmy alleges that the rapper — whose real name Shawn Carter — had no legal right to sample the flute passage, which he claims was lifted from a song composed by his late uncle, Baligh Hamdy, according to the suit. Jay-Z’s 2000 hit opens with the flute sample, which is used as a musical hook throughout the song.
Fahmy’s suit also names Paramount Pictures, Warner Music, Universal Music Group and MTV among the defendants.
“Big Pimpin”‘ producer Timbaland contends he found the Egyptian song without any identifying information on a CD and assumed it was in the public domain.
According to court papers, Jay-Z paid $100,000 in 2001 to the label EMI Arabia, which said it had rights over Hamdy’s song, “Khosara, Khosara,” which was used in an Egyptian movie. However, Fahmy filed his lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court in 2007, claiming the payout was irrelevant to his case.
