Rap mag faces Eminem legal fees in court battle

Rap magazine The Source has been ordered to pay Eminem’s legal fees for violating a US 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 website in January, violating a temporary restraining order issued by New York Judge Gerard Lynch in December.

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”.

“It is for fans of hip-hop, and not for this court, to decide what if anything this episode means for their opinions of Mathers as a man and as an artist,” the judge wrote.

In December, the judge allowed the magazine to publish limited excerpts from the lyrics and to distribute CDs containing small clips of the songs.

The dispute concerns two recordings made by Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, as a teenager. They include lyrics such as “black girls are dumb, and white girls are good chicks”.

The Source’s co-owners, David Mays and Raymond Scott have accused Eminem of racism.

Eminem, now 31, has said the recording was “foolishness” that he made as a teenager out of anger and frustration after breaking up with a black girlfriend.

The Judge denied a request to fine the magazine thousands of dollars because the magazine quickly removed the lyrics when lawyers complained.