Pharoahe Monch News

(5/31/01, 6 p.m. ET) -- Toho Co. and Toho Music Corporation, the owners of the Godzilla theme song, filed a complaint for copyright infringement Friday (May 25) against rapper Pharoahe Monch, Priority Records, and Rawkus Entertainment at the United States District Court Central District Of California.

Toho accuses Monch of sampling "Godzilla's Theme" without permission in his rap hit "Simon Says," from his 1999 album Internal Affairs. The album was released on the Priority Records-distributed Rawkus Entertainment, also home to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Hi-Tek.

The defendants claim irreparable harm, and are seeking damages, attorney's fees, court costs, and an immediate injunction on the copying, distributing, and public performance of "Godzilla's Theme."

A spokesperson for Rawkus Entertainment could not be reached by press time. And a spokesperson for Priority Records said that the label did not have a comment. Monch appeared on the rap scene in 1991 as a member of Organized Konfusion, a respected underground rap group signed to Hollywood Records.

-- Billy Johnson Jr., Los Angeles

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.