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Mac Miller Settles $10 Million Lord Finesse Lawsuit

Finesse reaches undisclosed settlement over claims Miller lifted bits of his 'Hip 2 Da Game' for 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza.'

Mac Miller has settled the [article id="1689373"]$10 million copyright infringement lawsuit[/article]
 filed last summer by 1990s rapper Lord Finesse over music that appeared on Mill's 2010 K.I.D.S. (Kickin' Incredibly Dope Sh--) mixtape.

According to HipHopDX, the two sides reached a confidential settlement on December 6, the details of which have not been disclosed to anyone than the judge in the case.

"I'm actually legally not allowed to say anything about what happened," Mac told Complex magazine this week. "Other than that it's been resolved and we didn't go to [trial]. If that was really a problem, people would be getting sued left and right." A spokesperson for Miller's Rostrum Records declined to comment at press time.

"Diggin' in the Crates" rapper/producer Finesse filed the suit against Miller and Rostrum over claims that the instrumental track from his 1995 single "Hip 2 Da Game" was used as the basis of "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza" from the K.I.D.S. tape.

"This is a case about a teenage rapper -- Mac Miller -- copying the music from a song written, produced and performed by Lord Finesse, a hip hop legend, changing the title and then distributing it under his own name in order to launch his music career," the complaint stated.

Rostrum defended their artist, claiming that the label never profited from Finesse's music because "Kool Aid" appeared on a free mixtape.

"Mac never pretended that the 'Hip 2 Da Game' beat was his, despite what's being said in the suit," the label said in a statement. "Lord Finesse was given credit on both the video and the mixtape from the very beginning. We've never distributed 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza' for sale on iTunes and have consistently policed digital retailers and other sites to make sure that no pirates were ever illegally selling the song."

The [article id="1689448"]two MCs spoke[/article]
 after the suit was filed, but Miller said a day later that the legal action was still on.

The label, also home to Wiz Khalifa, contended that Mac's two-year old retread of "Hip 2 da Game" wasn't news to Finesse. "Lord Finesse has known about 'Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza' for a long time and never objected to the use ... For some reason, he has very recently changed his mind."

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