(EXCLUSIVE) The Game Settles Legal Battle w/ Rapper Who Accused Him of Stealing
theJasmineBRAND.com exclusively reports, The Game has reached a settlement with an unknown hip hop artist – who sued the rapper accusing him of ripping off his work to promote his new hit song – with both parties signing an agreement which dismisses all claims against the rapper once and for all.
A Florida hip hop artist named Kevinn McNair (aka Ariza Obey) filed a federal lawsuit last year against rapper The Game accusing him of ripping him off.
He explained that he is not only a musician but also a urban apparel designer who sells his clothes online and at various Florida stores.
Obey said that he is the owner of the copyright for a photo image entitled “Ride or Die” that was created back in 2014. The image shows a fictionalized depiction of him and a female counterpart wearing ski masks brandishing firearms to protect one another. He said the photo was posted on his social media accounts to promote a new line of clothing he was releasing along with his then-upcoming album “Purge”.
He explained that the photo received a ton of traction on social media with various celebrities re-posting his photo and it receiving a ton of likes on Instagram.
Obey said that The Game produced a single entitled “Ryda” to promote his upcoming album “The Documentary 2” and he illegally used the photo in question for the album cover of the single, which was released on iTunes and various other outlets online. The song is a huge hit with it hitting the Billboard Charts and being viewed over 9 million times on YouTube.
The problem is, The Game never asked for permission to use the photo nor did he pay Obey for using it in his promotion. He takes credit for the single being such a hit claiming his photo was the reason for its huge success.
Obey filed suit demanding an injunction against The Game from continuing to use his photo, actual and monetary damages for the unauthorized use of his iconic photo and attorney fees
The case had been pending for months in Federal Court and The Game had yet to respond to the allegations in the complaint.
Then on March 22nd, docs were filed in the case that state the unknown artist has informed the court that he reached a settlement with The Game.
Per their agreement the plaintiff is dismissing all claims against the rapper and the entire case is thrown out.
One less legal battle for The Game to deal with, who is currently dealing with several other lawsuits filed against him.
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