Sean “Diddy” Combs, Snoop Dogg, and the estates of The Notorious B.I.G. and Angie Stone are just a few of the defendants named in a copyright infringement lawsuit from two people claiming “I Wanna Thank Ya” and “Nasty Girl” contain a sample of a song they wrote, used without their permission.
In the complaint, obtained by Complex, David Bravo, 73, and Jean Albert Renaud, 84, allege they co-wrote and produced the 1980 song “Skatin’” performed by Eumir Deodato. Bravo and Renaud claim both Stone’s and Biggie’s songs sampled the “harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic” elements of “Skatin’” to “serve as the complete musical backing track over which new vocal melodies and rap verses were composed.” They include a report from musicologist and record producer Thomas Z. Shepard to back up their claims.
Combs, Biggie’s estate and Nelly are named for their involvement on the 2005 track “Nasty Girl,” while Snoop and the estate for Angie were included in connection to the 2004 song “I Wanna Thank Ya.” Jazze Pha, the producer behind both hits, is also in the suit.
Bravo and Renaud are accusing Sony Music Publishing of a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty after the publisher “flagrantly disregarded” its contractual obligation to pursue legal action on their behalf. The two allege they were told that “Nasty Girl” represented a “conflict of interest” due to Sony Publishing’s ties to several writers on the song.
“Sony Publishing deliberately turned a blind eye to the unauthorized use of Plaintiffs’ four-bar foundational backing track,” the lawsuit reads. “This flagrant disparity highlights that Sony Publishing’s refusal to protect Plaintiffs’ copyright was not an administrative oversight, but a calculated decision to maximize the profits of its other lucrative clients at the direct expense of Plaintiffs.”
Bravo and Renaud claim they did not discover the alleged unauthorized use until May 2024.
