Back in 1994, Bay Area hip-hop veteran E-40 dropped a single called "Captain Save a Hoe." It was catchy AF, complete with women thirstily singing "I wanna be saved" on the hook. So, it's no surprise the song took off in the urban market and became one of 40 Water's most well-known songs. Because it's left such a significant mark on his career, E-40 made the decision last November to sue the publishers of a book with the same title. And now, those publishers are countersuing E-40 over their right to the title, per Billboard.
In his initial suit, E-40 claimed he had a role in defining the term by providing, in part, Urban Dictionary's top definition of the phrase, which points to his song:
Derived from a 1993 rap song by rapper E-40 about the adventures of a Financial savior to underprivileged inner city hood rats.
The book that triggered the initial suit, written by author Erika Kane, was released last October. The story follows a man named Georgie Porgie who leaves Philadelphia for New York after a prison sentence, "to pursue his dreams of being a famous hairdresser," via the book's Amazon description. "Money and drugs become his obsession, punctuated by his unending love of women and wanting to save them from themselves." According to Billboard, there's already a sequel set to be released June 5.
E-40's 2014 trademark filing—which has not yet been approved—includes clothing and entertainment services that are listed as "an ongoing series featuring comedy, action and adventure provided through television, online webcasts and radio broadcasts."
In its countersuit, Kane's publishing company Vodka & Milk Publishing asserts that E-40's trademark requests are incomplete, and as such, his rights don't cover the use of the "Captain Save a Hoe" phrase in books. Additionally, Vodka & Milk's attorney Corey Boddie tells Billboard that Kane's book series and E-40's pursuits target completely different consumer bases. "My client's consumer has absolutely nothing to do with [E-40's] consumers," Boddie said.
Vodka & Milk also claims E-40 has not lost revenue as a result of the Captain Save a Hoe book's existence, while E-40's alleged requests to Amazon to take the book down from its service, as well as retail outlets, caused canceled orders and irreparable injury, financial damage and loss of income, all to be proven at trial.
Meanwhile, E-40's attorney Michael P. Martin says they plan to file a motion to dismiss. "The Defendants' decision to use E-40's well known character and song title without his authorization gave us no choice but to enforce his rights or risk losing them," Martin said.
Welp. Nobody wants to save these hoes, but everybody wants to be Captain Save a Hoe. Typical.
