Jackson, Rihanna Sued for Song Swipe
Starstock/UPPA/ZUMAPress.com; AP Photo/Richard Drew
Michael Jackson's started somethin' all right. Another legal battle.
In the latest of a never-ending string of lawsuits, a Cameroonian musician is suing Jackson and Rihanna in a Paris court, alleging they swiped a hook from one of his tunes.
The suit, filed Tuesday by 75-year-old Manu Dibango, claims the Moonwalker had previously acknowledged using a section of Dibango's 1972 track "Soul Makossa" as the riff on "Wanna Be Startin' Something," one of the hit singles from Jackson's 1983 landmark Thriller album. The two sides eventually reached a settlement over the unauthorized sample.
Rihanna came to be involved in the dispute in a roundabout way. Turns out she licensed the same hook from Jackson for her 2007 smash "Don't Stop the Music," but no one bothered to get permission from Dibango.
According to Agence France-Presse, a Parisian court will rule on Feb. 17 whether the case will move forward.
Should he win, Dibango could net more than $600,000. Until the matter is adjudicated, however, his attorneys are asking the court to block Sony BMG, EMI and Warner from profiting off the contested songs.
There was no immediate comment from either Jackson or Rihanna.
Jackson was sued just last week by "Thriller" video director John Landis for failing to pay royalties from the 14-minute clip and then trying to launch a stage version of the video without Landis' input.
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