Recording Artists Jay-Z And Beyonce
May 2, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Recording artists Jay-Z and Beyonce look on during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs between the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors at Barclays Center. The Nets defeated the Raptors 97-83. Reuters/Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jay-Z appeared before the Jury on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Los Angeles federal court to testify in a copyright infringement case. Jay-Z and Timbaland have landed in legal trouble following claims of copyright violation by the heirs of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, reportedly recounted the events that took place in his life and the creative process that inspired him to create single ‘Big Pimpin’ with Timothy Mosely, who is also known as Timbaland.

He said that at the time, when Timbaland introduced the “Khosara Khosara” melody to him, he had no clue that it was a sample composition of Egyptian composer Hamdi.

According to Billboard, the “99 Problems” rapper also made the courtroom laugh during his testomony, as he cracked jokes about Kanye West and Timbaland. However, when it came to talking about the disputed 1957 hit “Khosara Khosara” track, he became serious.

Pete Ross, the counsel for the prosecution, has said in a statement that according to Egyptian Law, both Jay-Z and Timbaland are obliged to get direct approval from Hamdi or his estate before using vulgar and demeaning lyrics over “Khosara Khosara” track in “Big Pimpin.”

Jay-Z denied that they had no license to use the song. The music mogul maintained that as soon as the claim was made, his team had done a proper negotiation to secure license to use the disputed track.

The legal representative for the bigtime music producers said that the Hamdi family has been repeatedly compensated for the use of the track.

This year, it is the second copyright infringement case against high-profile musicians in Los Angeles court.

Prior to the “Big Pimpin” trial, Pharell Williams and Robin Thicke were slapped with USD5.3 million suit for copyright infringement of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” in their 2013 hit single, “Blurred Lines.”

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