George Clinton, the father of P-Funk, sued hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas over the song “Shut Up,” alleging that the group improperly used music in the song’s remixes, according to the Associated Press.Clinton sued the group on Friday, saying that they used parts of Parliament's 1979 song “(Not Just) Knee Deep” on the album Uncle Jam Wants You in the “Shut Up Remix,” released in 2003.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Clinton is suing every member of the Grammy Award-winning hip hop group, UMG Recordings, and Cherry Lane Music. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The former leader of Parliament Funkadelic is seeking $150,000 in the suit, EW reported.
Clinton’s music has been heavily sampled by hip hop and R&B artists.
Dr. Dre most notably sampled Clinton’s music, creating his own G-Funk style for 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. For example, Dre’s song “Let Me Ride” off 1992‘s The Chronic sampled Parliament’s “Mothership Connection (Star Child).”
Clinton did not give the Peas the rights to his music when they sampled him, EW reported.
Peas attorney Ken Hertz told AP that he does not make comments on his client's issues.