Friday, June 11, 2004

Hip-hop mag must pay Eminem



Rap magazine The Source has been ordered to pay Eminem's legal fees for violating a federal court order not to publish full versions of the rapper's racially charged lyrics.

The Source published the lyrics of an Eminem song on its Web site in January, violating a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch.

In a pair of rulings made public this week in the copyright dispute between the magazine and the rapper, Lynch ordered The Source to pay legal fees to Shady Records Inc., Eminem's label.

The judge compared Eminem to Benny Goodman and Elvis Presley in finding success in musical genres created by black artists. But he said the First Amendment protects the rapper's "musical commentaries on life."