
Drake was sued in 2014 for copyright infringement over a spoken word sample that provides the introduction to his track “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2”. This track appeared on his 2013 album Nothing Was The Same and features Jay Z. The estate of jazz musician Jimmy Smith filed the lawsuit, as Drake’s track used a 35-second sample of his 1982 song “Jimmy Smith Rap.”
At Southern District of New York court on Tuesday, May 30, judge William H. Pauley III ruled that Drake’s use of Smith’s sample constituted fair use as his version slightly altered Smith’s original statement and “adds something new.” “Jazz is the only real music that’s gonna last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow. But jazz was, is and always will be,” Smith said in the original song. Drake modified the sample for the track so that it stated “Only real music's gonna last. All that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow.”
Drake recently joined The Weeknd onstage in Toronto where they performed their hit song “Crew Love” together for the first time in three years. He also just dropped a shoe collab with Clarks as well as an exclusive OVO edition Jordan Trunner LX in celebration of Toronto’s first Jordan Brand store.
Revisit “Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2” and compare it to “Jimmy Smith Rap” below.
For more Drake, check out our ranking of all his albums right here and his top 25 tracks here.
In other music news, Travis Scott just dropped his self-directed video for "way back" featuring James Harden. Check it out right here.