Tuesday, May 24, 2016

"Presser, I hardly know 'er!" said Kanye West.

Gábor Presser is a Hungarian citizen residing in Budapest. Presser is a living legend in his homeland, and the song "Gyöngyhajú Lány" has been one of the most beloved and enduring songs in Hungary and across Easter Europe since Presser wrote it in 1969. I know this because Mr. Presser's lawyers said so in the complaint they filed against Kanye West in the Southern District of New York alleging copyright infringement.

Mr. Presser is a member of the band Omega, a Hungarian rock group. "Gyöngyhajú Lány" is their biggest song, according to their Wikipedia page and Mr. Presser's complaint. Their Wikipedia page also says that the Scorpions covered the song and called it "White Dove" despite the fact that their Wikipedia page also says that "Gyöngyhajú Lány" means "Pearls in Her Hair," while Google Translate turns it into "Pearl-haired girl" which reminds me of an old movie.



But I digress. Here's the Omega version of the song.



Mr. West sampled this song for almost a minute and a half at the end of "New Slaves," which appears on the album "Yeezus." Here it is--skip to 2:53 if you just want to hear the sample at issue.



The real (and NSFW) video for the song is available on Vimeo, but the last minute and twenty-five seconds have, interestingly, been cut off. Even more interestingly, Kanye West sampled a 40-some-odd-year-old Hungarian rock ballad?!?

The complaint details how Mr. West approached Mr. Presser for the rights to the sample after "New Slaves" was released, and how they have tried to work something out but failed. The complaint also details how "New Slaves" received tons of positive critical reviews, including a quote from the New York Daily News stating that "New Slaves" "features the most cool, and obscure, sample on the disc, from early ’70s Hungarian prog-rock group Omega." The most cool! Grammar! I also recall a Grantland article by Rembert Browne in which he describes how he felt the first time he heard the switch to this sample on "New Slaves" and how he wishes he could experience that feeling again and regrets that he can't.

So this honestly appears to be a pretty significant sample.

Accordingly, this seems like a cut and dry case of infringement, especially given Mr. West's ex post request for a license, but if we know anything around here it's that the little guy always loses and Mr. Presser is the littlest guy in this fact pattern. Also in this fact pattern is co-defendant Sony, and you know what happens to old guys who get cranky when Sony busts their loops.


I expect Mr. West to take a page from Ghostface Killah's playbook.


Not necessarily that page. I expect him to sit back and let Sony do the heavy lifting. I also expect this case to settle because no one in their right mind wants to defend Kanye West's deposition.


I'll let you know how this pans out.

22 comments:

TR said...

Great post, even if you omitted your innate pro-Hungary bias.

On the topic of modern hip-hop, I watched Drake's performance from SNL the other week and felt like the kid in the Emperor Has No Clothes. The tunes sucked balls. Big, hairy wart-laden balls liked we saw on GoT. His shit is so soft. I don't get what people like about it. I guess these guys pump the singles out so fast that they're almost disposable.

T.J. said...

strong GIF usage

T.J. said...

pet peeves: assholes who board an elevator before allowing people to, ya know, exit the elevator

zman said...

GIFs are the new words.

TR, I don't get most modern hiphop either and that's probably because we're too old. If we spent more time up in the club drinking and dancing and trying to get some strange we might encounter modern hiphop in the environment for which it is intended. Instead we listen through tiny earbuds or car speakers while waiting for the morning coffee to kick in. And we don't get many of the slang/cultural references. And we don't enjoy the lazy beats or the slurred lyrics because ... well, we're too old.

Tomorrow's post further illustrates my continued march into old manhood.

rootsminer said...

I've never been to Easter Europe. Would like to check it out sometime.

zman said...

Lots of bunnies.

T.J. said...

danimal appears to be at Augusta today. pretty sweet day.

rob said...

i amuse myself thinking about zman's legal research admins reviewing their westlaw bills and wondering why one of the senior counsels is running searches on kanye west, pretty tone, et al.

rob said...

danimal had damn well write a post about his day. that'd drive traffic like a motherfucker. and we're all about traffic. and postcount. mostly postcount.

rob said...

gheorghies! roanoke road trip!

http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Ballast-Point-chooses-Botetourt-County-for-its-East-Coast--380687761.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_WDBJ7

Clarence said...

Their expansion recon team must've had some cheesy westerns.

Had the Ballast Point Pineapple this weekend. Almost as good as the grapefruit.

Shlara said...

Guys, KD isn't leaving OKC.
And, if Presti wants to hire me, I'd totally work there, even though its in OK

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/05/24/kevin-durant-oklahoma-city-thunder-warriors-nba-playoffs

rootsminer said...

I imagine it will be awhile before Ballast Point or Deschutes will be brewing in our area, but we have some good local microbreweries in the area, and a nanobrewery I've yet to try.

rob said...

i would quite enjoy the zman legal blog treatment of this story: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/marlins-sue-season-ticketholders-vendors-bankrupted-by-small-crowds-8475702

Clarence said...

Ask Marlin what he thinks about the Marlins.

zman said...

Never sue your customers.

rob said...

boom. post.

Dave said...

great post, zman. i don't know how i feel on this issue-- while i always want to root for the little man (anvil!) but i love sample-happy modern hip hop and i always have (paul's boutique) as long as the samples are used to make something better and more interesting. it's just hard to root for kanye west (though i really like a of of his music, except for the stuff about bleached assholes.

on a totally different note, i've been listening to all the episodes of "the weeds," the policy podcast rob recommended. great show, but i t will make you feel really dumb and uninformed.

rob said...

thunder are going to the finals. amazing.

TR said...

Holy crap! OKC score would've been cooler if Russ missed that last trey, but I'll take it. Draymond and Klay have been neutered. The Thunder's length outside of the 5 position (Ibaka, KD, Westbrook) is wreaking havoc.

Shlara said...

Thunder Up!!

Danimal said...

Hi gheorghies. From nyc.