Multi-platinum rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, mega-singer Akon and producer Swizz Beatz are being sued by Fort Worth, Texas music publisher, Songster.The publisher claims that Bone, Swizz and Akon illegally used portions of a 1978 Hare-Krishna influenced song called 'When The Day Will Come (aka KRSNA)' by a band called Rasa, on the Bone Thugs track 'I Tried.' The song was Bone's lead single from their 2007 release 'Strength and Loyalty,' featuring Akon and produced by Swizz, both of whom are named in the lawsuit, along with their respective record labels; Full Surface, Interscope, Sony A.T.V. Publishing and Universal Music Group.
Songster alleges that they have notified all defendants about the illegal usage of the sample, but that the album still remains available for sale. The music publisher is demanding all earnings related to sales from "I Tried," and requests that the song be removed from all future physical and digital versions of the album.
The case is interesting because the song in question has been sampled plenty of times, and is pretty recognizable. Black Rob used it on 'Can I Live,' KRS-One back in 1990 on 'Beef,' and Common sampled it on 'Take It Easy.'
Check out a comparison between the original song and Common's take here, and the Bone Thugs song here.
