A couple weeks ago, Jeezy collaborated with Kendrick Lamar for a remix of Jeezy’s “Holy Ghost,” and they used a sample of a T.D. Jakes sermon titled, “Don’t Let the Chatter Stop You.” The song spread (as just about anything involving K.Dot is bound to) and was lent some real passion by Jakes’ words: “I’m under attack, but I’m still on fire. I got some chatter, but I’m still on fire. I got some threat, but I’m still on fire.” But Jakes was not happy. He posted on Facebook that he intends to take legal action against Jeezy.
Hip-hop runs up against intellectual property issues almost as often as churches do, as both places are open to what rappers call “sampling” and pastors call “being inspired” in varying degrees of legality. Jeezy has pulled the song from Soundcloud and YouTube, and everyone’s spokesperson is staying mum on the issue. Everyone except for Georgetown University professor and hip-hop expert Michael Eric Dyson, who expressed to The Guardian his opinion that, “It’s an unfortunate example of the disconnect between an elder, like T.D. Jakes, who is an undeniably gifted and remarkable human being, but may be not necessarily as in touch as he should be with the currency of a younger generation” …