music: but that’s my favorite part!

Someone swiped a piece of music from another artist and used it to great success?! Say it ain’t so! From The Guardian:

Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango has filed a lawsuit claiming that “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” have used one of his hooks without permission.

I checked out a performance video for “Soul Makossa” (after the jump) and I can see that there’s some merit to the lawsuit, though it could get a little tricky. Still, Jackson (and his people) copped to it and settled out of court. Rihanna (and her people) asked permission from Jackson, and his people never said, “Well you know… it’s not really ours.” so I’m not sure how she could really be at fault. But it’s gotta burn the guy up hearing these tunes over and over again and thinking, “I settled? What was I thinking?!”

I admit though, I wouldn’t like Rihanna’s song as much if I didn’t know the hook was coming at the end of the song. As for Jackson’s song, it just turns into this lovely mish mash of clapping and hooks and goes on forever. Impossible not to love it.