The Canadian rapper Jonathan Emile who got a Kendrick verse for his own song has had nothing but troubles since. He took TDE to court initially, won, but Kendrick’s record label is still blocking their artist’s verse on the song.
A few years back Kendrick liked the concept of Jon’s song about police brutality so he hopped on it. When Emile tried to put the song up online, he got hit with copyright claims, so Emile took them to small claims court in Canada and won a $6,400 settlement. So now he’s written an open letter to Kendrick Lamar addressing the problem:
“Still, your label, through its lawyers, has refused to honor the court’s decision. They have continued the bullying and intimidation in an attempt to strong-arm me. They have since filed a retraction to stay the execution of the judgment. After the judgment was handed down, I was phoned by your legal team and I was asked to enter into a settlement agreement — of course, I cannot discuss any of these details. The bullying, intimidation and exploitation I have experienced by your team and by your label is not something I expected. A day after sharing the first version of this letter with select media outlets for consideration, I received a phone call from the court informing me that the application to revoke judgment was withdrawn. Still, UMG has not signed the documentation to close the legal procedures, admit fault and obey the court order. In essence, this reveals UMG will continue their legal action to undermine my rights as an artist and by extension the Canadian Charter. I am of the belief that my case—this letter—is relevant to the rights of independent artists, specifically, to fight false copyright claims and UMG’s misconduct. It would be a mistake to dismiss this as simply an isolated incident.
By removing my song, TDE broke the law and set a small legal precedent for artists whose work is being silenced and censored. By silencing “Heaven Help Dem,” for whatever reason—artistic, business or personal—you and your team have violated the rights of independent artists and broken the original contract/exchange we had. Now, Universal Music Group will attempt to have this case thrown out. The special relationship that major labels have with YouTube, SoundCloud and other services was abused. What TDE did opens the door to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of independent artists being compensated for false copyright claims made by major labels.”
Read the full letter here.
