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Legal
Drake sort-of collaborator sued over ‘Best I Ever Had’
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 9 June 2010
One time actor and now rap type Drake has got caught up in a hip hop legal dispute even before his first album proper hits the streets. The dispute centres on Drake’s 2009 track ‘Best I Ever Had’. The rapper has already been at loggerheads with producer Kia Shine over the track, with Shine claiming he produced and co-wrote the song. Drake initially disputed Shine’s claims, and argued he had never met the producer.
But there have since been rumours that a deal was reached between the two men and as a result Shine is now getting a royalty for the track. The specifics of that deal are not known, though it’s possible Drake unknowingly sampled some key elements originally created by Shine in his single.
Either way, a second producer, DJ Absolut aka Shane Muir, is now claiming he actually created the beat used in the song. Muir says he gave Shine the beat in 2008 on the condition he receive a 20% royalty for any use of it. Presumably with reports Shine is earning off the Drake track, he now wants a cut of the loot.
According to the New York Daily News, Muir’s legal people claim Shine has earned a million dollars off ‘Best I Ever Had’, but that he has passed nothing on to their client, and has failed to respond to their correspondence. They are suing for breach of contact.
It’s not clear if Drake himself is named in the lawsuit, though presumably he’d have a case for avoiding liability given the dispute is based on an agreement between Muir and Shine. Drake’s much delayed debut album, meanwhile, is set to finally arrive in shops next week.
