Jay Z and Timberland to appear in court over 'Big Pimpin' sample even though they paid the original composer $100,000

They sampled the flute line from 'Khorsa, Khorsa'

(Getty )

Jay-Z’s has had his far share of problems recently - Tidal hasn’t exactly worked out for him, has it - and now he’s got one more: a major lawsuit to deal with.

Back in 2000 Mr Z had a huge hit with the single “Big Pimpin”, produced by Timbaland and featuring a flute sample originally written by Baligh Hamdi, a famous Egyptian composer.

It was originally thought the recording was in the public domain, but upon learning it was not EMI paid Hamdi’s estate $100,000. It turns out that wasn’t enough, as the composer’s nephew filed a lawsuit in 2007 claiming the lump sum payment did not pay respect to “moral rights” in Egyptian law.

These rights claim that a piece of work cannot be altered out of respect to the creator. It is claimed that Jay-Z’s paperwork did not “not express in detail” all the ways in which Hamdi’s wong “Khorsa, Khorsa” would be used.

While this seems ridiculous to many, the court hearing is going ahead 13 October, according to Hollywood Reporter, and Jay-Z and Timbaland will be appearing to testify about the use of the sample.

To add weight to the Egyptians case, he’s hired the same musicologist who testified in the “Blurred Lines” trial on behalf of Marvin Gaye’s family.

In other “the-law-meets-music” news, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson are may be sued for their song “Uptown Funk” as it sounds suspiciously like a Serbian pop song.