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Lizzo Says Sampling Laws Police Black Art, Calling Their Origins Racially Charged

In a podcast interview, she argued enforcement turned a foundational hip-hop practice into something treated as theft.

Overview

  • Lizzo made the comments during a Sept. 14 appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast.
  • She said early hip-hop artists sampled records because they lacked access to studios and instruments, helping define the genre.
  • She contended the legal regime’s roots were racially motivated and now cast sampling as theft that targets Black creativity.
  • As an enforcement example, she cited Biz Markie’s dispute that led Warner Bros. Records to pull his I Need a Haircut album from stores.
  • She added that rights should be protected but criticized lawsuits over a song’s “vibe,” and coverage noted her own 2021 sampling-related suit over “Coconut Oil.”