Cease and Desist orders have been issued through legal representation of Monumental Musik Productions, the sole proprietorship owned by music producer Angelo “Lolo†Shepherd, to the networks citing that Wale “unlawfully used the instrumental without the authorization or silence in connection with (i) the advertisement and promotion of music artist Wale, and (ii) the making available distribution and performances of musical work.†Wale’s “The Break-up Songâ€, a 2-minute and 12 second song featuring a familiar sample from legendary singer/musician Stevie Wonder’s “All I Do†record, was first released to the public via his twitter account in April 2010 and since then has statistically become his most discussed and listened-to songs of his career.
The video for the song which features narration from actor and Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, premiered as MTV Jam of the Week on Super bowl night in February 2011. The video would also go on to premier on BET’s 106 & Park show in March of this year. Now after nearly a year of the video is being broadcasted throughout the web and on BET and MTV networks, “It’s imperative that this video (music) is immediately removed from rotationâ€, said Monumental Musik CEO, Angelo Shepherd, “the consistent play without appropriate financial compensation of the licensed producer’s work represents the theft our industry is currently fighting on Capitol Hill. Fair practices should be expected from consumers and networks alike.â€
