Jay Z Attempts To Dismiss Sound Engineer’s Song Rights Lawsuit

Hip Hop artists have been feeling the heat recently from contributors to their music whether via sample or literally. Earlier this week Kendrick Lamar was hit with a $1 million lawsuit regarding claims of him unlawfully using songs by Eric Reed and Willie Jones III and in July, Jay Z became entrenched in his own legal battle. Now, Hova is fighting back.

According to Billboard, Jay has filed a motion attempting to dismiss the lawsuit via sound engineer Chauncey Mahan asking a judge to declare him the co-author of 45 Jay Z songs. “Big Pimpin” and “Things That U Do” are among the the tracks named as well as unpublished outtakes from Jay’s fourth studio album, Vol 3… The Life and Times of S. Carter.

Jay Z and his legal team argue the statute of limitations have passed and that the plaintiff had been silent until only recently regarding his joint author claims. He also reiterated past accusations that Mahan “attempted to wrongfully extract a large sum of money in exchange for the return of computer sound files.” While this case is related, it is separate and only an attempt to paint Mahan as someone too late to the punch.

“After 14 years of silence, Petitioner’s claims (and his attempt to use the federal courts as part of his shakedown scheme) are outrageous and wholly without merit,” a memorandum by the defense claimed in support of killing Mahan’s lawsuit. “More significantly, for purposes of this Motion, the claims are plainly barred by the three-year statute of limitations contained in the Copyright Act, and have been for more than a decade.”

If Chauncey Mahan is able to win the lawsuit it would set legal precedent on the issue of co-authorship in music. In his 84-page complaint, Mahan attempts to explain how he should, at very least, be considered a joint author of the Jay Z songs he created with the Brooklyn native. He states he “was in charge of setting up or scheduling the recording sessions and studio time, tracking the prototype beat of the so-called ‘producer,’ pre-mixing the beat, sample editing, choosing the recording methodology and setting up the microphones, vocal recording, vocal coaching, vocal compositing, multi-track mixing, song arranging, pitch shifting, additional editing, and pre-mastering a final version through use of a digital audio workstation such as Pro Tools.”

Roc-A-Fella has separately filed a motion to dismiss premised claiming Jay Z had transferred his interest in the recordings to Universal Music making them an irrelevant party to the litigation. No decision has yet been made in the case.

RELATED: Jay Z, Roc-A-Fella Records Sued By Former Producer, Engineer Chauncey Mahan