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Image via DJ Kool Herc/Marlon Ajamu Myrie
Referred to by many as the “founder of hip-hop,” DJ Kool Herc isn’t happy with his portrayal in HBO’s Vinyl.
Created by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, the TV show focuses on the recording industry in the 1970s, and when it came time to portray the emergence of hip-hop, the inclusion of Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell was a no-brainer. The show offered him $10,000 dollars for help with consultation services and to waive “overall rights,” but he declined as he thought the figure was too low.
When they used his name and likeness anyway, he responded with a lawsuit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His lawyer Taso Pardalis commented, “It’s beyond us why HBO and the producers of Vinyl, a successful show about artists and music, would hurt an artist like Herc who has contributed so much to the music industry.”
An attorney at HBO claims Campbell was offered the money for consultation services only, and that the network has a right “to base a character on a real-life person.”
