Rapper Luther Campbell has distanced himself from that previously reported lawsuit against 50 Cent, which alleges the latter stole a lyric from the former. Early reports suggested that the lawsuit was being brought by Lil Joe Records on behalf of the rapper, but Campbell has told allhiphop.com that the label and its owner, Joseph Weinburger, are acting solely in their own interest in pursuing the case.
As reported yesterday, the copyright infringement lawsuit claims 50 Cent stole a lyric from Campbell's 1994 track 'It's Your Birthday' - which appears on the 2 Live Crew frontman's solo album 'Still A Freak For Life'. Fiddy's track 'In Da Club' carries the line "go Shorty, it's your birthday", while Campbell rapped "go Sheila, it's your birthday".
But Campbell has told the hip hop website that the rights to his tracks and to those of 2 Live Crew are completely owned by Weinberger, and that he is not involved in anyway in the current lawsuit. Campbell: "Let the record reflect that Joe Weinberger and [Weinberger's attorney] Richard Wolfe are the individuals who are suing 50. They are not suing on behalf of me or any member of the 2 Live Crew. These guys - that's all they do is go around suing people and use our names. When they do sue people and make money on that catalogue, neither me nor any of the 2 Live Crew members receive any money from that."
There is seemingly no love lost between Campbell and Weinberger. Allhiphop.com explain that the latter once represented the former, but took overall ownership of the rapper's copyrights when he filed for bankruptcy. Campbell continues: "They stole that catalogue from the members and me and we don't make money from it. When you read my book, 'My Life And Freaky Times,' you'll get the full entire story surrounding these two crooks and that catalogue."