Sales of the Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album Ready to Die were halted on Friday (Mar. 17) after it was ruled that a portion of an Ohio Players song was used without permission.
The lawsuit is one of 477 filed by Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records against various companies and individuals for sampling records by Parliament-Funkadelic, The Ohio Players, The Detroit Emeralds and others.
A jury sided with Bridgeport and Westbound and found that Bad Boy Entertainment, Justin Combs Publishing, Bad Boy LLC, Universal Records and Sean “Diddy” Combs illegally incorporated parts of The Ohio Players song “Singing In The Morning” on the song “Ready to Die.”
Bridgeport and Westbound were awarded over $4 million dollars in punitive damages.
Lawyers for Combs said the verdict was without merit and vowed to appeal the decision.
The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in Los Angeles at the age of 24 in Mar. of 1997.
Wallace’s murder remains unsolved.
