Jay-Z and producer Timbaland have attended the opening day of the ‘Big Pimpin’ copyright trial in Los Angeles.
The pair are being sued over a sample used in Jay Z’s 1999 hit, produced by Timbaland. Osama Fahmy, nephew of late Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, is suing the pair for unauthorised use of his uncle’s work. The song sampled 1960 song ‘Khosara Khosara’, written by Hamdi for the film Fata Ahlami.
The attorney of Timbaland, Christine Lepera, told jurors that initially used Hamdi’s work thinking it was royalty-free, he later paid $100,000 (£64,000) to EMI Music Arabia, who claimed rights to the sample.
Appearing on Tuesday (October 13), Mr Fahmy’s lawyer Peter Ross told the court: “You have to go to the composer himself, or his heirs, play the work, and get his approval. That he never did.”
The trial will continue on Wednesday (October 14), with Jay Z set to testify.
See footage of Jay Z and Timbaland leaving the court below.
Fahmy is reportedly upset with the content of the Jay Z track. His lawyer Keith Wesley recently told The Guardian: “They used it with a song that, even by Jay Z’s own admission, is very vulgar and base. That’s really why this is so significant to my client. They not only took music without paying. They’re using it in a song that is, frankly, disgusting.”
Hear both ‘Big Pimpin’ and ‘Khosara Khosara’ beneath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNZ7RZd0nD0