Eminem: ‘Rap God’ Sued For Sampling Song Without Permission

Rapper Eminem is reportedly getting sued for sampling a song in his hit single, “Rap God,” without permission.

Fans and critics of the 2007 Hotstylz single, “Lookin’ Boy,” more than likely picked up on the sample as soon as they first heard the quick-paced lyrics and overall flow of “Rap God” when it was first released in 2014.

Perhaps Eminem was not banking on the fact that Raymond Jones, a member of Hotstylz, would also pick up on it as quickly as everyone else.

TMZ reported on Monday that Jones is now suing Eminem and his record label for using a 25-second sample of his group’s hit single near the middle of “Rap God” without their permission.

According to the report, Jones is suing for $8 million.

This news should not come as a surprise to fans and critics of either Hotstylz or Eminem. Back in November, Hotstylz made headlines with their leaked rap freestyle titled, “Rap Fraud,” in which they dissed Eminem’s daughter, his past drug problems, and even more allegations against the “Rap God” rapper.

In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Hotstylz member Krazee stated that his controversial rhymes about Eminem’s daughter did not cross the line, especially when you consider what Eminem does on his own songs.

“You got to look at Eminem. Eminem has based his career on talking about other people… Eminem has been talking about somebody’s daughter for the longest, even his mom or his wife, ex-wife, whatever the case may be… To me, I don’t think that’s below the belt because we were basically mimicking him and that’s something he would do himself.”

There are numerous references throughout the group’s “Rap Fraud” freestyle where they mention that they are now looking for compensation and would be suing Eminem for copyright infringement.

According to the report released by TMZ, that is exactly what they have now done.

[Image Credit Courtesy of Vibe; I Got Next Magazine]