According to a New Orleans federal court jury the rightful owner is "Juvenile" of the respected local rap label Cash Money Records. After a 5 day trial the jury sided with the defendant, much to the dismay of rap artist DJ Jubilee (of "Take 'Fo Records") whose opinion of the legal system has been dimmed: "I feel like I was robbed."
The case pitted, as expert witnesses, two emminent local musicologists who took differing views on the similarity of the music. Harold Battiste (a UNO professor of jazz composing) said that the two songs, which were written in different keys, were fundamentally the same, while Tulane University music historian Gayle Murchison opined that the songs were significantly different.
The rights to a profitable rap song can be more financially rewarding than owning an oil well. Not surprisingly, an appeal is expected.
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