It’s about time Grandma finally stood up to Eminem.
A 70-year-old California woman is suing the rap superstar, claiming he illegally sampled a section of music from her late husband’s film score for his 1999 debut, The Slim Shady LP, the Smoking Gun Website reports.
The suit, filed in federal court last month on behalf of Harlene Stein, accuses Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) and his mentor Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young) of swiping a 24-second instrumental cue titled “Pigs Go Home” from her hubby Ronald Stein’s composition for 1970’s Getting Straight, a flick starring Elliot Gould and Candice Bergen, for Em’s tune “Guilty Conscience.”
The complaint notes that the grandmother-of-five, who inherited Ronald Stein’s publishing rights upon his death in 1988, has not seen a dime from the piece’s unauthorized use, despite the cue being present in all of the versions of the song released worldwide as well as in the hip-hopster’s video.
“Plaintiff has lost substantial revenue from Defendants’ unlawful and willful copying of the Cue, their failure to remit to Plaintiff her rightful share of income generated from the song “Guilty Conscience,” and their failure to obtain licenses from Plaintiff for their uses of the Cue,” read court papers.
The suit goes on to add that in the liner notes for The Slim Shady LP, Eminem also failed to properly credit her husband, instead acknowledging that “Guilty Conscience” contains “an interpolation” from “Pigs Go Home.”
The complaint, which also named in the complaint were EMI and several of Eminem and Dr. Dre’s related music companies, did not specify how much Harlene Stein is seeking in damages. Instead, it demanded a full accounting of profits on the track from Eminem’s camp to determine the award amount the trash-talking rapper’s label, EMI, would have been required to pay for the sample. The suit also seeks additional damages for the copyright infringement.
Reps for Eminem were not available to comment on the suit.
This isn’t the first occasion Slim Shady’s been accused of losing himself in other people’s music.
In April of 2002, French jazz artist Jacques Loussier also filed a $10 million copyright infringement suit against Eminem, claiming he stole parts of his tune, “Pulsion,” for his violent tirade on the track, “Kill You,” off 2000’s Grammy-winning album The Marshall Mathers LP.
