Usher, Run DMC and Other Artists Facing Lawsuit Over ‘Different Strokes’ Sample

Adding to the list of some of his recent woes, Usher is facing a lawsuit alleging the R&B superstar and former host of 'The Voice' illegally sampled a portion of the Syl Johnson's song 'Different Strokes.'

Usher is being sued by Syl-Zel Music, along with Twilight Records, who are accusing the "Confessions" hitmaker of sampling a song the song 'Different Strokes.'  Syl Johnson ne Sylvester Thompson originally recorded the tune in 1967.

The lawsuit alleges that Usher's song“Call Me a Mack" is an infringement against the original tune. And Usher is not alone in the lawsuit. RuN DMC, Public Enemy and actor Mark Wahlberg are also named in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Illinois. Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and “Fear of a Black Planet, ” Wahlberg’s “The Last Song on Side B,” and Run-D.M.C.'s us “Naughty” and “Beats to the Rhyme" are all songs listed in the lawsuit.

No comment from Usher or his team about the lawsuit or the sampling of this song. Listen to the two songs here and judge for yourself.

It's not the first time a contemporary artist has been sued for using a sample from this song.  Jay Z and Kanye West were both named in a 2011 lawsuit, which was later settled out of court. Below, Syl Johnson talks about the lawsuit against Kanye and Jay Z in his own words: