Jay Z and Timbaland appeared in a Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct 13 & 14) to testify in trial over the copyright infringement of their 1999-hit “Big Pimpin’.”
The pair are being sued by by the heirs of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, who created the love song “Khosara Khosara,” a record from 1957 with elements used on Jay Z and Timbaland’s first hit record.
The Associated Press reports that Hov spent nearly 90 minutes testifying in the courtroom, recounting his life, successes and the process creating “Big Pimpin’” with Timbaland.
The Roc Nation mogul presented a hard copy of 1999’s Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, the album “Big Pimpin’” is featured on, to prove his point. “We have the rights as you can see on the bottom of the CD,” Jay Z told the jurors, pointing out the liner notes which credits “Khosara Khosara.”
Jay Z expressed humility about his success during his testimony, plus some humorous moments. The courtroom burst into laughter, when Jay Z was asked by his own lawyer about the success of artists he discovered like Rihanna, J. Cole and Kanye West. “Some people may have heard of him,” the rapper’s attorney Andrew Bart said when referring to Kanye West. “One or two,” Jay Z responded. “He’s running for president.”
Lawyers for both Hov and Timbaland told jurors that Hamdi’s family had been repeatedly paid for the use of “Khosara Khosara,” a song where four of the 74 notes are repeated throughout “Big Pimpin’,” an Egyptian music expert testified Wednesday.
Jay Z stated that Timbaland introduced the “Khosara Khosara” melody to him just as he was about to leave a meeting, putting the record together over the next few hours. When asked about his working relationship with the Virginia-producer, Jay Z stated he likes working with Timbaland because they push each other.
“He tells me his beats are better than my raps. I tell him my raps are better than his beats,” he said. “It’s an ongoing thing that I keep winning.”
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