3 Notes and Runnin’

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that musicians must obtain clearance for every sample, regardless of whether it is recognizable in their finished song. The sample in question was a 1.5 second section of the Funkadelic song Get Off Your Ass and Jam which was used in the NWA song 100 Miles and Runnin’.

This ruling is another blow in the 15 year war against sampling which has virtually driven it out of mainstream hip-hop. On Grey Tuesday we protested EMI’s attempts to censor the sample-based Grey Album. Today we’re teaming up with musician and artist Michael Bell-Smith to offer this response to last week’s ruling:

3 Notes and Runnin’

The project is an open call for 30 second songs made entirely and exclusively (but not necessarily recognizably) out of the 1.5 second Funkadelic sample that was the focus of the court case. Show us what you got– Mike has already started things off.

For more on sampling law, check out our brief accompanying essay, Why Sample Rights Matter.