Singer Truth Hurts is still in debt to her former record label after a $500 million sample clearance lawsuit was tossed out of court.
Truth Hurts, real name Shari Watson, 54, sat down with J. Valentine for a recent episode of the R&B Money Podcast. She explained that she still owes $1.7 million to Aftermath Records, despite being released from the label.
Watson is best known for her hit single “Addictive,” which became a top 10 hit in 2002. The record was produced by DJ Quik, who used a sample that he recorded off a foreign TV show.
Watson said DJ Quik didn’t clear the sample of Hindu singer Lata Mangeshkar in a song from the 1981 movie Jyoti.
DJ Quik thought the sample was from a foreign song across the world, “it’s not going to make a difference, right?” Watson said.
After “Addictive” raced up the song charts in 2002, the sample’s copyright holders Saregama India, Ltd. sued Aftermath and parent company Universal Music Group (UMG) for $500 million for copyright violation.
The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter explained that she was afraid the lawsuit would harm her music career. She begged label owners Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine to release her from her record deal, which they did.
The copyright owners eventually lost their $500 million lawsuit on the grounds that the Indian chorus in the song was not a religious or spiritual tradition.
They did win the right to have their songwriting credits added to the song.
“Addictive” also used cleared samples from “Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied)” by B.T. Express, and the first line of Rakim’s rap, “Thinking of a master plan,” from his 1987 song “Paid in Full.”
Although DJ Quik is credited as the song’s producer, it was later revealed that “Addictive” was actually produced by Dr. Dre.
Watch the full podcast interview below.