Ludacris, Kanye West Tell "Stand Up" Story

Ludacris and Kanye West rap to the beat of their own drum.

At least that's the gist of what the platinum-selling rappers had to say in a Manhattan court Thursday where they both took the stand to defend themselves on a charge of ripping off another group's work for their 2003 hit "Stand Up," which they co-wrote.

The New Jersey-based quartet I.O.F. and production company BMS Entertainment/Heat Music LLC have sued Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and West for copyright infringement, saying that "Stand Up" mimics I.O.F.'s song "Straight Like That," mainly because both tunes repeatedly use the lyrics "like that."

Ludacris testified first and stated that he never received a demo copy of "Straight Like That," as the plaintiffs have alleged, and had never even heard the phrase used before.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Mel Sachs, asked the Crash player if he was really trying to tell the jury that he hadn't obtained copies of the song in 2002 and 2003.

"I'm definitely saying that, sir," Ludacris replied.

"Sir, before you wrote the song, 'Stand Up,' did you ever hear the term 'straight like that'?" Sachs asked.

"No, sir," Ludacris said. "I never heard anyone use the term? I do not know what the term 'straight like that' means, sir."

He also testified that he felt the plaintiffs were mistaken when they claimed that the words "like that" were used in "Stand Up" more than 80 times, as they were in "Straight Like That." (A quick speed-read through "Stand Up's" lyrics found on the Internet came up with way less than 80.)

Later, West took it upon himself to lighten the mood.

When the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist took the stand, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel instructed him to recite the first two lines to "Stand Up." West complied, sounding out the opening beat and starting the first two lines, which Ludacris then finished.

Upon reaching verse one of the song, West hesitated for a second but then went on, dropping the F-bomb in the process. (Hey, it's part of the song.)

Luckily the judge took it with a grain of salt.

"I'm sorry I asked," Judge Castel said as laughter rippled through the courtroom. "I think I'm going to withdraw my question."

West went on to tell the court that using the words "like that" a lot was not so strange, especially in hip-hop.

"There's a lot of rap songs that say, 'like that,' 'yo,' 'what's up?' or 'throw your hands high,'" he testified. "Whatever people say in the 'hood, it ends up on records. That's what hip-hop does."

But it doesn't always end up in the mainstream. I.O.F.'s "Straight Like That" spun on college radio a few years back but never made it past that level.

"Stand Up" appeared on Ludacris' 2003 album Chicken & Beer, his first number-one album on the Billboard 200.

The rappers' attorney, Christine Lepera, who's also representing EMI April Music Inc. in the suit, asked the court to disregard the plaintiffs' accusations.

Once West has steered himself out of this situation, he still might have another day in court ahead of him. He was sued earlier this month by DaimlerChrylser Financial Services, a private trust, for allegedly not keeping up with lease payments on a 2003 Mercedez SUV and then failing to return the car once the lease was up.

Maybe he couldn't find his keys.