Mary J. Blige‘s 1992 classic “Real Love” is at the center of a lawsuit that’s been filed against Universal Music Group (UMG).
According to Billboard, Tuff City Records filed a complaint on Thursday (April 4), accusing UMG’s publishing division of copyright infringement for allegedly using an unlicensed sample from 1973 funk song “Impeach the President” by the Honey Drippers on the MJB track. The song, with its iconic drum break, has been sampled hundred of times by countless Hip Hop artists including 2Pac, Biggie, Run-DMC, Dr. Dre and more.
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Most recently it was sampled by Doja Cat on “Can’t Wait” off her 2023 album, Scarlet.
In the complaint, Tuff City’s attorneys say they have “advised defendant repeatedly of the presence of the uncleared sample” on “Real Love” but have been ignored.
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Mary J. Blige is not named in the suit nor accused of any violation. The suit also makes it clear that UMG Recordings, which owns the masters to “Real Love,” already reached an agreement for the sample. But they said that UMG’s publishing division has refused to do the same.
As noted by Billboard, it’s unclear why the company has waited more than 30 years to sue over it – especially when they have sued over that very sample in the past, including before “Real Love” even came out. Back in 1991, the company sued Sony Music and Def Jam accusing Marley Marl of illegally sampling the track on LL Cool J‘s “Around the Way Girl” and “Six Minutes of Pleasure.”
In other Mary J. Blige news, the R&B/Soul icon recently revealed some surprising thoughts about her own music.
“I used to hate everything about me. The sound of my voice, the sound of my speaking voice. And I used to just be afraid to hear any music back,” she said on an episode of TODAY With Hoda and Jenna last month.
Though Blige struggled to get over this self-loathing, she revealed that these bad feelings eventually went away.
She said: “We grow up thinking we couldn’t boast or brag or love on ourselves, and now I’m doing all that…I have so much fun with myself. I’m like, ‘Girl, you look so good. I’m so proud of you. Oh, that looks nice on you.’ And I’m by myself a lot, so I’m always like, ‘Oh Mary, I love that! Let’s wear this tonight. That’s gonna be hot!’”
