Jan 29, 2010 5:14 am US/Central
Local Musicians: Black Eyed Peas Stole Our Song
Manny Mohr, Phoenix Phenom Say 'Boom Boom Pow' Is Similar To Their 'Boom Dynamite'
AURORA, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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The Black Eyed Peas perform at the Grammy Nominations Concert Live where nominations for the 52 annual Grammy Awards were announced, at Club Nokia at LA Live in Los Angeles on December 2, 2009.
Robyn Beck/Getty Images
A west suburban songwriter and a singer from Chicago have charged internationally famous band The Black Eyed Peas with ripping them off.
Auroran Manny Mohr and Chicago singer Ebony Latrice Batts, also known as Phoenix Phenom, filed suit in federal court this week, claiming Black Eyed Peas members stole a song they co-wrote in 2007 to create the smash hit "Boom Boom Pow."
The suit targets each Black Eyed Pea individually, and also Universal Music Group, Interscope Records and three publishing companies that co-own the Peas' 2009 album The E.N.D. That album contains "Boom Boom Pow," which was released as a single in March, and went on to hit #1 on the Billboard chart and sell more than 4.6 million downloads. It held the top spot on the singles chart for 12 weeks.
But Mohr and Batts say the single is similar to their song "Boom Dynamite," particularly in its repeated "boom boom" refrain.
Listen for yourself:
Boom Boom Pow
Boom Dynamite
Mohr and Batts released "Boom Dynamite" in January 2008, posting its video to YouTube at the same time. According to the complaint, the song was submitted to Interscope Records, the Peas' record label, as part of a package intended to get Black Eyed Pea Stacy Ann Ferguson, also known as Fergie, to sing on a track with Batts.
Additionally, Mohr believes that Jimmy Iovine, head of Interscope Records, received a link to the YouTube video of "Boom Dynamite," and subsequently played the track for the Peas.
They're not alone in their opinion that "Boom Boom Pow" is a ripoff. Both Source Magazine and Urban Daily, two major hip-hop magazines, published articles last year questioning whether the Black Eyed Peas stole "Boom Dynamite." Source conducted a poll of readers, asking them to listen to both tracks, and found that more than 80 percent of listeners thought the Peas track was stolen, according to the complaint.
Mohr and Batts are asking for damages and a share of the profits, past and future, from sales of "Boom Boom Pow." They also want songwriting credit on future pressings of the album.
-- Andre Salles, Aurora Beacon-News, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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