Independent Rapper Jonathan Emile Pens Open Letter To Kendrick Lamar While Battling His Label In Court

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLbqQSrOS7c
The video above is for a song titled “Heaven Help Dem,” which independent, Canadian rapper Jonathan Emile posted up online back around 2015. It got a heavy amount of buzz at the time thanks to a feature verse from Kendrick Lamar, who was then in the process of rolling out his masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly. Unfortunately, the success didn’t last.

The problems for Emile began shortly after sharing the song when Lamar’s label began issuing takedown orders all over the place, arguing that the he hadn’t gotten the proper clearance. Emile begged to differ. He showed that he had paid two installments for Kendrick’s contributions to TDE, and subsequently took the label to court over the matter and eventually won. Yet, the battle rages on. The hit to his reputation and his fortunes for success can’t be quantified in real terms, and so, as a way to bring resolution to this entire matter, Emile has decided to pen an open letter to K Dot himself.

In a lengthy note posted to DJ Booth, Emile outlined how he arrived at this point.

“In late 2014, my management set up a formal release date for the single “Heaven Help Dem,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. We chose Martin Luther King Day, January 19, 2015, for the release as it was significant to me and to the theme of the song. Out of courtesy, we contacted TDE to inform you of our plans to release the song. I sent Top Dawg a sample of the track, he said that he didn’t remember it or the transaction and that it may be too old. So I sent him the transaction information along with the music. I heard nothing back. I emailed him a few more times to no avail and we just went ahead with our release schedule.”

He then explained how Top Dawg reacted once the song made it online.

“This prompted a call from Top Dawg himself. During the call, Top Dawg threatened that Interscope and Universal Music Group (UMG) would take down the song, he eluded to possible legal action and took a highly aggressive stance. He also threatened that I would burn my bridges with TDE and that it was bad business for me to not listen to him. It’s hip-hop, so tough talk and bullying come with the territory. I asked him, why didn’t he tell me not to release the song? He evaded. So I informed him that I had every right to have the song released and that there was nothing I could do because it was live on the internet and scheduled for iTunes release. I proposed to remove the song if I was refunded, but Top Dawg refused. I asked to speak to someone at Interscope or UMG—at this point, he became angry and yelled that he was ‘the president of Top Dawg Entertainment and he has the final decision.'”


After that came the take-down notices.

“A notice was placed on these sites, for hundreds of thousands of people to see, stating: “Jonathan Emile has violated UMG/Interscope’s copyright.” I received generic emails stating that I had violated copyright owned by UMG/Interscope, though the song was paid for and arranged prior to your public signing with Interscope. The situation left me frustrated and feeling completely powerless after all the love, money, time and energy invested into the release of this song, and the first single off my debut project went right down the drain. We had to postpone the marketing and release of my album until we had this sorted out.”

As a result of the negative attention resulting from the disappearing track, Emile’s reputation took a hit that’s been nearly impossible for him to gain back.

“People were saying I stole the verse from an old Kendrick song (not true) and all sorts of other libel against me. I was genuinely hurt. I had invested my heart and soul into this release all for it to be stripped away by Top Dawg himself. Top Dawg later confessed to my lawyer (who signed a sworn affidavit) that he personally asked Interscope and UMG to remove the song because he felt “disrespected”. I do not believe it was honorable for me to be attacked simply because of mismanagement and lack of judgment on the part of your representatives.”

So he took TDE and Universal to court, and he won.

“I won the case, not simply by default, not because your label, management and Top Dawg refused to show up, but because I plead my case and the court heard the facts and published judgment that referenced The Canadian Charter of human rights and freedoms.”


But according to Emile, that hasn’t stopped either entity from continuing the fight against him.

“The bullying, intimidation and exploitation I have experienced by your team and by your label is not something I expected. A day after sharing the first version of this letter with select media outlets for consideration, I received a phone call from the court informing me that the application to revoke judgment was withdrawn. Still, UMG has not signed the documentation to close the legal procedures, admit fault and obey the court order. In essence, this reveals UMG will continue their legal action to undermine my rights as an artist and by extension the Canadian Charter.”

With little recourse left, Emile reached out to Lamar to, “appeal to your greater sensibilities, and ask you to honor our original agreement and hold your representatives to account. I can only hope you have this type of influence over these processes.” In the meantime he’s promised to continue, “preparing for the legal battle ahead, and releasing more music.”

Both Lamar and TDE have yet to issue a response to Emile’s letter.

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