What's Yours Is Mine: When Cover Songs Spark Beef

Lupe and Pete's row isn't the first remake-related tiff.

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Uncovered: When Cover Songs Spark Beef - Cover songs and remixes are usually intended to be tributes to the original, but it doesn't always work out that way. Last week, sparks flew when Lupe Fiasco released "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)," which reworked the classic 1992 Pete Rock & CL Smooth track "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)." Pete Rock, who produced the track as a tribute to his deceased friend, Heavy D & the Boyz member Troy "Trouble T" Dixon, lit into the Chicago rapper via Twitter: "No disrespect to Lupe Fiasco and i like him a lot, but 'T.R.O.Y.' should be left alone," PR wrote. "Feel so violated the beat is next to my heart and was made outta anguish and pain." Pete later said that the two had talked and the beef had been squashed, but Lupe later said that wasn't true. Whatever the outcome, it isn't the...

Etta James vs. Beyoncé - Etta James had previously praised Beyoncé for playing her in the film Cadillac Records, but the legendary chanteuse changed her tune when Bey took on her signature song, "At Last," at Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. “That woman he had singing for him, singing my song — she's going to get her a-- whipped,” James said onstage at a show soon after. “I can't stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day, gonna be singing my song that I've been singing forever." 

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Etta James vs. Beyoncé - Etta James had previously praised Beyoncé for playing her in the film Cadillac Records, but the legendary chanteuse changed her tune when Bey took on her signature song, "At Last," at Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. “That woman he had singing for him, singing my song — she's going to get her a-- whipped,” James said onstage at a show soon after. “I can't stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day, gonna be singing my song that I've been singing forever." 

Young Chop vs. Kanye West - Most up-and-coming producers would give their left ear to be remixed by Kanye — but not Young Chop. The rookie beatmaker blasted fellow Chi native Kanye West earlier this year for repurposing his beat for Chief Keef's anthemic "I Don't Like."I just felt disrespected ’cause I didn’t even hear the song before it dropped, and I kept telling them that I wanna hear the song," Chop said of the remix. "I ain’t know the song was changed over like that....That’s not my sound." Kanye never responded directly, but his G.O.O.D. Music signee Pusha T seemed to be talking about Chop when he rapped, "You can keep your beats, n---a / We'd much rather share your b---h, n---a," on "Exodus 23:1" earlier this year. (Photos from left: Courtesy YoungChopBeatz.com, WENN.com)

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Young Chop vs. Kanye West - Young Chop is the producer behind Chief Keef's viral hit "I Don't Like," but when Kanye and his G.O.O.D. Music fam remixed the song earlier this year, the upstart beatmaker spoke out. “I just felt disrespected ’cause I didn’t even hear the song before it dropped, and I kept telling them that I wanna hear the song,” he said in an interview. “I ain’t know the song was changed over like that. There’s different sounds in the beat; it don’t even sound like the real beat. It sounded like a rock star beat, and that’s not how I do it. That’s not my sound. [Kanye] should have called me and asked me, ‘Ayo Chop, can I do this? Can I do that?’" Chop soon said that he and Kanye's team had squashed the rift, but G.O.O.D. Music signee Pusha T later seemed to take subliminal shots at the producer on his new song "Exodus 23:1."(Photos: Cour...

Drake vs. Olivia - Drake was none too happy when reality star and R&B songstress Olivia repurposed an old, unreleased verse of his for "Control," a song from her mixtape Under the Radar. "I support artist collaborations and sampling music that inspires you, but I don't support taking unauthorized recordings and marketing them as features," Drake said in April. "I've never worked with Olivia, and I apologize to any fan who was duped into thinking that 'Control' was a collaboration of mine." Olivia didn't hold her tongue in response. "I think that was corny, because it's a mixtape," she told MTV. "He started off doing mixtapes." (Photos: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN); John Ricard/BET) 

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Drake vs. Olivia - Drake was none too happy when reality star and R&B songstress Olivia repurposed an old, unreleased verse of his for "Control," a song from her mixtape Under the Radar. "I support artist collaborations and sampling music that inspires you, but I don't support taking unauthorized recordings and marketing them as features," Drake said in April. "I've never worked with Olivia, and I apologize to any fan who was duped into thinking that 'Control' was a collaboration of mine." Olivia didn't hold her tongue in response. "I think that was corny, because it's a mixtape," she told MTV. "He started off doing mixtapes." (Photos: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN); John Ricard/BET) 

Khia vs. YG - Khia was furious when Cali rapper YG borrowed many elements of her freak anthem "My Neck, My Back" for his hit "Pop It." Saying he "stole her s--t," the so-called Thug Misses struck back last week by releasing a raunchy diss track over the "Pop It" instrumental.(Photos from left: Courtesy Big Cat Records, Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

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Khia vs. YG - Khia was furious when Cali rapper YG borrowed many elements of her freak anthem "My Neck, My Back" for his hit "Pop It." Saying he "stole her s--t," the so-called Thug Misses struck back last week by releasing a raunchy diss track over the "Pop It" instrumental.(Photos from left: Courtesy Big Cat Records, Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

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Frank Ocean vs. The Eagles - After Frank Ocean reworked the Eagles' signature hit "Hotel California" for "American Wedding" from his acclaimed mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, the singer was threatened with legal action by both Warner Music Group and the Eagles this year. "Why sue the new guy?" Ocean asked in a rant about the incident on his Tumblr. "I didn’t make a dime off that song. I released it for free. If anything I’m paying homage."(Photos from left: Courtesy Def Jam Recordings, Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

Voletta Wallace vs. Lil Kim - This beef started way before the song in question. Last July, Voletta Wallace had a Lil Kim verse removed from Monica's "Anything (To Find You)," which uses the instrumental from her late son Biggie's "Who Shot Ya." Wallace and Kim, Big's former paramour, have exchanged some not-so-nice words in the press for years.(Photos from left: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images, John Ricard/BET)

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Voletta Wallace vs. Lil Kim - This beef started way before the song in question. Last July, Voletta Wallace had a Lil Kim verse removed from Monica's "Anything (To Find You)," which uses the instrumental from her late son Biggie's "Who Shot Ya." Wallace and Kim, Big's former paramour, have exchanged some not-so-nice words in the press for years.(Photos from left: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images, John Ricard/BET)

Biz Markie vs. Gilbert O'Sullivan - Biz Markie got pimp-slapped in court by Gilbert O'Sullivan, who sued the MC in 1991 over his "Alone Again," a rapped take on the Irish singer's 1972 hit "Alone Again (Naturally)." The album was pulled from the shelves, and hip hop production was changed forever, as sampling became much more costly and cumbersome after the landmark case. (Photos from left: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images, Keystone/Getty Images)

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Biz Markie vs. Gilbert O'Sullivan - Biz Markie got pimp-slapped in court by Gilbert O'Sullivan, who sued the MC in 1991 over his "Alone Again," a rapped take on the Irish singer's 1972 hit "Alone Again (Naturally)." The album was pulled from the shelves, and hip hop production was changed forever, as sampling became much more costly and cumbersome after the landmark case. (Photos from left: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images, Keystone/Getty Images)

Prince vs. Foo Fighters - Prince has frequently spoken out against other artists covering his work, and he was particularly vocal when it came to rock band Foo Fighters' 2003 take on his classic "Darling Nikki." "Write your own tunes!" the Purple One said when asked about the song in Entertainment Weekly. (Photos from left: Claire Greenway/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Prince vs. Foo Fighters - Prince has frequently spoken out against other artists covering his work, and he was particularly vocal when it came to rock band Foo Fighters' 2003 take on his classic "Darling Nikki." "Write your own tunes!" the Purple One said when asked about the song in Entertainment Weekly. (Photos from left: Claire Greenway/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Prince vs. Sinead O'Connor - Prince's anti-cover stance helped lead to a particularly heated feud with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who had a huge hit when she covered "Nothing Compares 2 U," a 1985 song from Prince's obscure side project The Family. O'Connor told U.K. paper The Mirror she exchanged words and blows with Prince when they met face to face, and years later, when fans at a 2005 concert shouted "Prince!" during an encore, Sinead responded, "F--k that f---ing midget!"(Photos from left: Neil Lupin/Redferns, Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

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Prince vs. Sinead O'Connor - Prince's anti-cover stance helped lead to a particularly heated feud with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who had a huge hit when she covered "Nothing Compares 2 U," a 1985 song from Prince's obscure side project The Family. O'Connor told U.K. paper The Mirror she exchanged words and blows with Prince when they met face to face, and years later, when fans at a 2005 concert shouted "Prince!" during an encore, Sinead responded, "F--k that f---ing midget!"(Photos from left: Neil Lupin/Redferns, Jason Kempin/Getty Images)