Jay Z’s battle over his hit song “Big Pimpin’” entered a new chapter on Monday (Sept. 21) as he appeared in court to convince the judge in the case to keep details of his reported $150 million deal with Live Nation under wraps.
According to the rap mogul, the Live Nation agreement contains extremely sensitive financial information regarding his business relationship with the company, theJasmineBrand.com reports, adding that the 80-page document details how Live Nation calculates the amount Jay Z is paid for each concert, among other things.
The rapper’s request to keep his Live Nation dealings out of the ‘Big Pimpin’ case is the latest development in the ongoing saga surrounding a lawsuit involving the classic track. The suit stems from claims made by Osama Ahmed Fahmy, the heir to 1960s composer named Baligh Hamdy who created the musical composition ‘Khosara, Khosara” which is sampled in “Big Pimpin’.” Fahmy claims that although he licensed out his father’s song, it included a moral clause. theJasmineBrand notes that Fahmy stated that Jay Z violated the clause when he included it in a song that glorified things his father did not stand for in his life.
Jay Z and his label countered Fahmy’s claims, saying they obtained the right license to use” Khosara, Khosara” and did nothing wrong. Jay Z’s attempt to have Fahmy’s lawsuit dismissed was denied by the judge, who ordered the rapper to take the stand and testify when the case goes to trial later this year. To gear up for the trial, both sides have filed documents giving various reasons for demanding that certain documents or facts be included/excluded in the case.
Most recently, Jay Z filed documents in the case demanding that his past criminal conviction not be allowed to be discussed in court. The entertainer stated that Fahmy mentioned his plan to bring up his criminal rap sheet in the trial.
In Jay Z’s eyes, the move is absurd in light of him not having a criminal conviction in the past 10 years, not to mention his old criminal case has nothing to do with the current case at hand. Adding to this, Jay Z demanded that his net worth not be allowed to be brought up in court under claims that the only reason for even brining it up to the jury is to make them so biased that they award Fahmy more money in damages.
Regarding his deal with Live Nation, Jay Z is demanding the exclusion of details surrounding the agreement. He goes on to say that he provided Fahmy with spreadsheets with the actual revenue he brought in for concerts where he performed “Big Pimpin’.” As a result, Jay Z feels this should be sufficient.
In addition, the music mogul revealed that Live Nation maintains strict confidentiality of their artist agreements, with very few employees having access to the documents. The reason for these details being so secret, Jay Z says, is if these details were revealed it would ruin negotiations Live Nation has with other artists as well as compromise his bargaining power with other companies in the future.
To further emphasize his point Jay Z said that he signed his deal with Live Nation in 2008, years after he released “Big Pimpin’.” With that, he says Fahmy’s request is entirely irrelevant.
As it stands now, a ruling from the judge in the case on whether the Live Nation contract will be allowed into evidence for the trial has yet to come down.
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(Photo Source: AP)
