It appears Kanye West and John Monopoly have gotten themselves in a bit of a pickle with an obscure Virginia rapper by the name of Vince P. Chicago Breaking Business is reporting that Kanye is accused of stealing the lyrics of his hit song “Stronger” from a track Vince P gave to John Monopoly back in 2006. Mo’ money, mo’ problems.
Kanye West’s Grammy-winning song “Stronger” copies certain lyrics from a 2006 song by a Virginia rapper known as Vince P., according to a copyright infringement case filed in a U.S. District Court in Illinois.
Vincent Peters, of Leesburg, Va., said in the complaint filed Friday that in 2006 he wrote and recorded a song called “Stronger.” West had access to the song through West’s long-time friend and business manager John Monopoly, who had heard and received a copy of Peters’ “Stronger,” the lawsuit said. Peters had wanted to work with Monopoly.
Seven months after Peters, professionally known as Vince P., gave “Stronger” to Monopoly, West released his version, the lawsuit said.West’s version “copies significant and important parts of Peters’ lyrics identically or almost identically,” the suit says.
Peters said his song included “What don’t kill me make me stronger,” while West’s says “That don’t kill me can only make me stronger,” the suit said. Another example, Peters alleges, is “couldn’t wait no longer,” while West says, “I can’t wait much longer.”
Both songs refer to supermodel Kate Moss – “a highly unusual and incongruous reference in a hip-hop song,” the lawsuit said. Both songs also use the word “wronger.”
And later
The lawsuit asks that the defendants be stopped from reproducing, selling, distributing and publicly performing the song. It asks the court to order West, as well as other defendants Roc-A-Fella Records LLC and UMG Recordings Inc., to destroy all copies of the record.
It also asks that the defendants give up all profits from the record. Damages sought weren’t specified.
The lawsuit was filed on Peters’ behalf by Chicago law firm Davis McGrath LLC, which specializes in intellectual property law. A lawyer for West, a Chicago native, couldn’t be reached for immediate comment.
This will get dealt with out of court, no effin’ doubt. Destroy all copies? Stop performing the song publicly? C’mon son. That’s one of, if not, THE biggest Kanye song ever in life. He’s not gonna stop using it because some wack ass rapper is complaining about a Kate Moss reference and the word “wronger”. Also, trying to make grounds on “that that don’t kill me makes me stronger” is the WEAKEST ground to sue in a song copyright suit. That’s a VERY common phrase that laymen in the jury can undeniably identify with.
#rantdone.
wow vince. lol
vince p is a fat loser who wears a kids plush toy on a 99 cent store chain!! he goes to these high profile events only to “eye” star fuck celebs with his camera. what a faggot. dude holds no ground. kill yourself you ol lame ass fuck boy
Hold on, this is the same Vince P from Chicago? I thought it may be a different one since it said VA. Damn, Vince, that’s a fail if so….
http://www.myspace.com/vincep1
if he stole his shit, he gotta pay
Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you Vince P. via screenname “real”!!!
**FSD boos**
Rappers steal artists songs all the time and if they took the kids songs they need to just give him what they owe.
@andrew yes that is him. blood tried to sale me on his fake bs in a studio in jerz i wasn’t havin it. i hit some of my people up from the southside of the chi and the told me blood was phony as hell
well… idk.. like they say.. if they stole it.. they should pay for it… and the courts are sayin they gotta pay for it… why all the hate.. it doesnt fuck kanye west up at all.. … i can believe it though… thats how the game goes.. if they catch u… then pay… over
The thing is though, how can you even prove that he stole it? he’s saying he stole a couple phrases, one being a pretty common phrase… I think this dude’s bullshitting.
sounds like some john monopoly shit for sure !!! Pay what you owe you fucking thief !!!
young live STFU fucking snitch i herd you told on some niggas you was in the car with. said yo boys had drugs on you. lame ass nigga got caught stealing computers at a college lame ass fuck boy!
SOMEONE NEEDS TO BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THIS QUEER, THEN BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ANDREW FOR POSTING BULLSHIT LIKE THIS
vince p ate a pbnj outta young live ass!!!
http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/kanye-west-hit-with-lawsuit#comments
This aint the only site thats talking about this. smh.
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/06/28/22280857.aspx
Didn’t he sue Cam’ron too, around 2004 -2006? This is his (M.O.) he sues rappers. This is how he gets his name out there let alone MONEY!
@FunFun It’s Andrew’s job to report on Chicago hip-hop happenings. It’s not a waste of a post because it’s revelant. You KNOW Andrew doesn’t agree with it, nor does anyone with a fuckin’ brain. You can’t ignore the news though. And why the hostility? #itsnotthatserious
PS: Anyone who is posting support for this farce of a lawsuit, clearly your Twitter name is @BelieveInVinceP and you should #killyaself.
i don’t think kanye tried to steal dude song. but he may have heard it and improved on an idea he heard. unlike the song he gave jay-z that was written by payroll. when you don’t know what happened behind the scenes all you can give is an opinoin. but this is common practice in the game and people pay to make this shit go away. so it will go away.
yea that payroll situation is classic lol
If he (Kanye) stole it he gotta pay. Bottom Line. Was he (Vince) supposed to let his work get capitalized by someone else while he broke waiting for a come up? Hell no. It would be different if he put him on some kind of way, but that never happened. Let this be a lesson to cats to copyright (or at least publish) their music. Its not the smartest move to give your uncopywritten work to known pirates. What star wouldn’t take a line or an idea that could create a hit from an unknown artist (This is why labels don’t accept unsolicited work)? Nothing against any one individual in particular, but fair is fair. That word has lost all meaning nowadays…
Scientific
i know for a fact john mnop didn’t give this piece of shit faggots music a chance nore did he waste kanye’s time letting him hear the garbage
Regardless of the situation, however, I don’t think I would want to be known as an ambulance chaser in the industry. Cats won’t work with you if they think they risk a lawsuit in doing so…
KANYE AND ALL OTHER BLACK RAPPER STEAL ALL MUSIC FRO POOR PPL
Any person with a bit of intelligence can attest that decisions are sometimes not correct-in reference to the dismissal. Cases have been won for the use of even more common phrases, then mentioned above-such as Willie Dixon and Led Zeppelin. I wouldn’t rely on Kayne West for much nor give the court in this instance due credit. Vince P didn’t have a very good attorney or prepare well enough. There is a way to alter and separate material to make it seem as if it was not altered or copied. College students copy all the time, so why wouldn’t West, especially if he was to make money from anothers words or implemented concept. People sue for infringing upon their work-and if one is writing lyrics one must use words, how those words are used to express is the matter-not expressively the words themselves and their is no possible way one can state that once another decides to infringe upon anothers work or expression they will not alter it to fit their packaging or gimmick, its like taking a logo off one box and placing on another but in a different area, if the logo was made by another it still is the logo just moved. If Kayne West was known for taking vintage soul samples-relooping them and tampering them in the studio to sound different I would say he also would use another lyrics to sell himself. Carrie Hall should be sued and correct words themselves cannot be copyrighted-neither can a language-when one groups a set of words together that is protectable its the expression or form not the words. In lyrics words are like notes of music-while one cannot copyright “notes” of music themselves one can copyright a set of notes combined in their form of expression. Its a common practice amongst “some” music industry associates and mailroom keepers to find material that is interesting and place it on an already consumed act-the garuntee of generating revenue is greater, plus the despair of ruining the possible future to another act or artist is a power trip.