Has Dr. Dre got something to hide?
The rap godfather is fighting in Manhattan federal court to stop a French jazz musician from digging up previous legal suits against him in a bid to prove that Dre’s a serial plagiarist.
Dre and his protégé Eminem are being sued for $10 million by Jacques Loussier, who claims the pair used his music on Slim Shady’s “Kill You.”
In court documents obtained by The Post, Loussier’s lawyers say Dre – who’s real name is Andre Young – has been bombarded with at least eight copyright suits in the past three years.
He’s become such a target – due to his “long history of copyright infringement” – that he’s hired “musicologist” Earl Spielman to advise him on whether he can copy music riffs without getting busted, the court papers say.
“When Mr. Young hears music he likes, it is his habit to take it,” lawyer Martin Garbus claims.
Dre’s legal record includes a big-bucks settlement with Star Wars legend George Lucas, who took him to court for copying his company’s so-called THX sonic-boom sound used in movies, the court papers say.
The company, Lucasfilm, had previously told the hip-hop producer he couldn’t use the sound on his best-selling album “Dr. Dre 2001,” but he pinched it anyway, Garbus said.
In another case two months ago, a Los Angeles jury ordered Dre to pay $1.5 million to London-based Minder Music Ltd. for stealing a bass line for his 2001 track “Let’s Get High,” the papers said.
Loussier’s lawyers are asking a Manhattan judge to force Dre to outline all of his copyright disputes.
But Dre’s lawyers have objected, saying Loussier is attempting to “relitigate” claims that have nothing to do with the present case.