Mac Miller’s use of Lord Finesse’s mid ’90s record “Hip 2 Da Game” for his single “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” from his 2-year old mixtape K.I.D.S. has gotten the young Pittsburgh emcee sued for $10 million by hip-hop legend, Lord Finesse. Apparently, young mac used the song and profited from it without his permission.
This is not the only time Mac has been accused of using beats without clearance. Back in September of 2010 he was confronted by the producers of his “La La La La” track, from the same mixtape, outside of S.O.B.’s in New York City, for not giving the credit to them in the video or description after using their production.
If this is all about giving credit where credit is due, do you think that the suit will just get thrown away in court? It appears as if they both sampled records without clearance or permission, but is $10 million way too much for Lord Finesse to ask for?
After keeping quiet for a good portion of the day, Mac responded to the suit via his twitter account last night. Earlier this morning Lord Finesse responded to Mac on his twitter account. Check out what they both had to say after the jump.
Mac Miller:
I’m supposed to be on hush but lemme speak on this real quick.
1. I made that record and video as nothing more than an 18 year old kid who wanted to rhyme and pay homage, no other intentions.
2. Finesse and I spoke on the phone for an hour after he heard the record and cleared the air.
We even planned to work on music together.3. All I wanted to do is shed light on a generation that inspired me.
4. When I heard there was a problem, I reached out to him to try and solve it. No response.
5. Finesse never cleared the Oscar Peterson sample on the original record. I did nothing wrong. We spoke on the phone had a good conversation, he was cool with the record. It’s all love tho. I ain’t even mad at dude. He still a legend.
Lord Finesse, thank you for what u did for hip hop. Thank you for bringing my favorite rapper into the game. I should just drop some new music.
Lord Finesse:
1. I appreciate Mac’s kind words but his people did not handle his business correctly.
2. Basics – Mixtapes are one thing, but you can’t take someone’s else’s entire song, shoot a music video and call it your own.
3. Mac’s on the top of his game right now. I wish him the best in Europe and I hope to hear from him besides on Twitter.