Talk about bad timing, yo.
Less than a week following news of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s premature death, a lawsuit brought against the Beastie Boys and their label Capitol Records has surfaced in a New York district court, according to AllHipHop. Filed only a day prior to Yauch’s passing, the suit alleges that the rap group illegally sampled songs by the little-known D.C.-area R&B/funk band Trouble Funk on two of their classic early albums, “Licensed to Ill” and “Paul’s Boutique.”
R&B/hip-hop label Tuf America alleges that the Trouble Funk songs in question, “Say What” and “Drop the Bomb,” were collectively sampled on four different Beastie Boys songs – “Say What” on the “Paul’s Boutique” tracks “Car Thief” and “Shadrach, and “Drop the Bomb” on the “Licensed to Ill” tracks “Hold It Now Hit It” and “The New Style.”
Tuf America is seeking a trial to determine what punitive damages they may be entitled to for the Beastie’s use of the samples.
Adam Yauch died of cancer last Friday at the age of 47.