By Rob Markman
Mac Miller and his label Rostrum Records plan to battle Lord Finesse's $10 million lawsuit against the Pittsburgh rapper.
"First and foremost, we stand by Mac Miller in this situation and we will fight the case together with him," read a press release issued by Mac's Pittsburgh-based label to MTV News on Friday (July 13).
On Monday, news broke that the "Diggin' in the Crates" rapper/producer filed a suit against Miller for rhyming over the instrumental for his 1995 single "Hip 2 da Game" and redubbing it "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza" back on Mac's 2010 mixtape K.I.D.S. (Kickin' Incredibly Dope Sh--). "This is a case about a teenage rapper — Mac Miller — copying the music from a song written, produced and performed by Lord Finesse, a hip hop legend, changing the title and then distributing it under his own name in order to launch his music career," the complaint states.
In Friday's release, Rostrum aimed to clear up what it believed to be misstatements, defending that the label never profited off Finesse's music because "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza" appeared on a free mixtape, as is common practice used by rappers like 50 Cent, Drake and Lil Wayne. "Mac never pretended that the 'Hip 2 Da Game' beat was his, despite what's being said in the suit," the release read. "Lord Finessewas given credit on both the video and the mixtape from the very beginning. We've never distributed 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza' for sale on iTunes and have consistently policed digital retailers and other sites to make sure that no pirates were ever illegally selling the song."
The label, which is also home to Wiz Khalifa, contends that Mac's two-year old retread of "Hip 2 da Game" isn't news to Finesse. "Lord Finesse has known about 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza' for a long time and never objected to the use," the statement said. "For some reason, he has very recently changed his mind."
On Wednesday night, Mac revealed on Twitter that he and the 1990s producer had recently talked but came to no resolution. "I just talked to Lord Finesse. He's still suing me," the "Donald Trump" MC wrote.
"Wow .. Mac. We spoke trying to resolve the situation. Next thing you back on Twitter.. wow ... " Finesse responded with a tweet of his own.