From Anthony Ewers Sent Fri, Nov 14th 1997, 10:39
>Either way, whatever blame did to that track can't >challenge the horrible sin notorious b.i.g/puff daddy commited by ripping >that riff from herb alpert's rise and morphing it into one of those >faux-pop-mtvized-hiphop tracks (and they stole the vocal hook from snoop >doggy dogg!) erm... You really need to hear the track, the vocal is dropped, a keyboard sound is added, a few beat shuffles here and there, and the drums get a little stronger (sounds like two samples of the same beat playing simultaneously); they are the *only* differences. Another Tax Adam F used the melody from Bob James' Wenchester Lady. Adam F got sued and pays Bob James *95%* of all publishing royalties on the single, and a disproportionate (35% I think) share of royalties generated by the album, Adam F didn't ask for permission to use the sample which is only 3/4 seconds of music, tut, tut, tut... I haven't got much time for Notorious B.I.G or Puff Daddy, but I think you'll find they actually clear their samples before they release tracks (the legal way). This is prudent as people are not afraid to sue these days especially if they've got the cash to, and your rip-off of a track makes enough money to for it to be worthwhile sueing you. Also I'm not talking about mere morphing, I'm talking about straight up sample, loop, & hey listen to my new tune! Press it, fuck the original artist & make some money out of very little creative input. I also don't think Notorious or Puff Daddy claimed to have maticulously crafted the music in their tunes (too many people know they are blatant samples anyway) as Blame did in a few interviews he gave. Notorious (RIP) and Blame are just happy to look stoned, dribble, and give one word/unintelligible answers...