the law

Ghostface is Finally Sued for Awesome Iron Man Samples

Photo: Mary-Louise Price; Photos: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images (Ghostface), U.S. Dept. of Defense, Painted by J.M Flagg/Staff or Contracted
Photo: Mary-Louise Price; Photos: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images (Ghostface), U.S. Dept. of Defense, Painted by J.M Flagg/Staff or Contracted

In 2000, Ghostface Killah released Supreme Clientele, a classic album that’s chock-full of rad samples of dialogue from old Iron Man shows. (Like this, from “Ghost Deini“: “Just by destroying Stark Enterprises, we can cripple their national defense. So you, Professor Vinkle, the world’s greatest expert on electricity, must devise the destruction of Stark’s mighty guardian, Iron Man.â€) Also present on Supreme is “Iron Man Theme,†written by a guy named Jack Urbont in the sixties for The Marvel Super Heroes. And now, all these years later, that’s a problem: Urbont is currently suing Sony Music Entertainment and Ghost for illegally sampling his material, and for appropriating the Iron Man character, writing “Defendant Ghostface is also known for the nickname, ‘Tony Starks,’ which is a take-off of the name ‘Tony Stark,’ Iron Man’s real name and true identity. In this way, Defendants’ use of Urbont’s ‘Iron Man Theme’ gives them a substantial commercial advantage by linking Ghostface to Iron Man without paying for it.†But really, the important thing here is holy crap, Jack Urbont, how had you never heard Supreme Clientele before?! [THR Esq./THR]

Ghostface is Finally Sued for Awesome Iron Man Samples