Even though Biggie Small has been gone for over two decades, his estate has still been hit with lawsuits. The estate was previously sued over the single, "Party & Bullshit" which was later sampled by Rita Ora. Unfortunately, both Biggie and Rita Ora were listed in the lawsuit filed by Adiodun Oyewole, a founding member of The Last Poets, who claimed that they used the term "Party & Bullshit" from their song "When The Revolution Comes." After a lengthy battle in court, a New York Federal judge ruled that Biggie and Rita Ora had done nothing wrong.
Staci Jennifer Riordan, the attorney representing Biggie's estate and Rita Ora, expressed her excitement after the judge ruled that it didn't constitute as copyright infringement. “It aligns with most people’s understandings of how the law should work,” she said. “No one should be able to own a phrase, especially if I am not using the phrase or words in the same way. You shouldn’t be prevented from saying ‘party and bullshit’ and phrases like it." She added that the ruling "gives clarity to future musicians and entertainers on what they can put out in their recordings, music, movies, YouTube or in their content.”
Oyewole claimed that the expression was protected by law but the lower courts ruled in Biggie's favor last year. It was only until this month that it was approved by the District Court.
