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Amaru Ent., UMG Hit With $10 Million Lawsuit Over Classic Hip-Hop Break 'Last Night'
Afeni Shakur's Amaru Entertainment and Universal Music Group have been hit with a lawsuit by R&B/Jazz singer Esther Williams, who claims Tupac Shakur and Ghostface Killah both separately used her music without permission.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Washington D.C. Federal Court, seeks $10 million dollars in damages, claiming Shakur used her often-sampled single "Last Night Changed It All" without permission on the song "Late Night," from Shakur's 2002 double album Better Dayz, which is the rapper's fourth posthumous album.
In a separate incident also specified in the lawsuit, Williams claims Ghosface Killah also illegally sampled her 1976 tune on a skit titled "Last Night Skit," which is contained on Ghost Face's critically acclaimed 2004 release, The Pretty Toney Album.
Williams, a former Miss Black D.C., has worked with a number of artists, including Davey Yarborough, Sir Roland Hanna, Bobby Felder and has opened for the likes of The Temptations, Peaches and Herb.
In 1998, Williams and her husband Davey Yarborough created the Washington Jazz Arts Institute, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and mentoring young and aspiring musicians.
Williams had no comment when contacted by AllHipHop.com, due to pending litigation.
Source: allhiphop.com
The lawsuit, which was filed in Washington D.C. Federal Court, seeks $10 million dollars in damages, claiming Shakur used her often-sampled single "Last Night Changed It All" without permission on the song "Late Night," from Shakur's 2002 double album Better Dayz, which is the rapper's fourth posthumous album.
In a separate incident also specified in the lawsuit, Williams claims Ghosface Killah also illegally sampled her 1976 tune on a skit titled "Last Night Skit," which is contained on Ghost Face's critically acclaimed 2004 release, The Pretty Toney Album.
Williams, a former Miss Black D.C., has worked with a number of artists, including Davey Yarborough, Sir Roland Hanna, Bobby Felder and has opened for the likes of The Temptations, Peaches and Herb.
In 1998, Williams and her husband Davey Yarborough created the Washington Jazz Arts Institute, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and mentoring young and aspiring musicians.
Williams had no comment when contacted by AllHipHop.com, due to pending litigation.
Source: allhiphop.com