A legal battle is brewing in Australia between Jay Z and a children’s author over lyrics to one of the rapper’s most legendary songs and the contents of a book about the alphabet.
American rap star Jay (real name Shawn Carter, 50) has taken issue with Melbourne based writer Jessica Chiha who he has accused of infringing his trademarks.
Jay has taken issue with Jessica paraphrasing the lyrics of his iconic 2004 single 99 Problems in a picture book titled AB to Jay-Z which uses details of a number of rappers to illustrate the alphabet.
The book includes a line which reads: “ZZ is for Jay-Z and he has 99 problems, but his ABCs ain’t one.”
And the back page of the book has a second quote reading: “If you’re having alphabet problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but my ABCs ain’t one.”
The quotes paraphrase the lyrics of Jay-Z’s single, which includes the immortal line: “If you’re having girl problems, I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a b***h ain’t one.”
Lawyers working on behalf of Jessica have branded Jay-Z’s legal case as “embarrassing” and highlight the fact that the rap star himself lifted the lines for his song from the 1993 album Home Invasion by Ice-T and his song 99 Problems.
“The title and parts of the lyrics of Mr Carter’s 99 Problems song were copied from another song titled 99 Problems which was recorded and released in 1993,” Jessica’s lawyers argue, according to Australia’s Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, Jay’s Australian lawyers argue that they have already instructed the author to stop selling her book, arguing: “Mr Carter has suffered, and will continue to suffer, loss and damage.”
In February 2019, Jay-Z was celebrated by Forbes magazine for becoming the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire.
