Judge Halts B.I.G. Album Sales Over Sample Issue

On Friday (March 17), a judge in Nashville, Tennessee halted sales of the Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album after a jury decided that the title song “Ready To Die” sampled a part of the Ohio Players’ 1971 song “Singing In The Morning” without permission. Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy LLC, Justin Combs Publishing and Universal Records were also ordered to pay $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the song rights owners Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records. The defendants are planning to appeal the decision. Listen to both songs below and weigh in on your opinion:

The Notorious B.I.G. "Ready To Die" (Produced by Easy Mo Bee) (1994):

The Ohio Players "Singing In the Morning" (1971):