American rapper Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Romelle Young, fired shots at Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene for using his music in her promotional video without his permission. The record producer called her “divisive and hateful”. Twitter removed this video after Dre’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the congresswoman.
Majorie Receives A Cease-And-Desist Letter
The issue of soundtracking political campaigns has become a major contentious issue between the music industry and political figures in recent years. The most recent instance is that of Dr. Dre and Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene.
The controversial Republican congresswoman, posted a promo video, featuring the rapper’s iconic hit “Still D.R.E.,” on her social media accounts Monday (Jan. 9) morning. Dr. Dre., however, slammed Majorie for using his music without permission and called her “decisive and hateful”.
“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” he said. Dre didn’t stop here. His attorney, Howard Kind, set a “cease-and-desist letter to the congresswoman, stating: “The use of ‘Still D.R.E.’ without permission constitutes copyright infringement.”
The letter contained a citation of a specific passage in the copyright code. “One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of this country,” King added in the letter. As a result, Twitter took down the video. If you aren’t aware, artists like R.E.M., Steven Tyler, Adele and Rihanna have also previously stopped politicians, especially Donald Trump, from playing their soundtracks for political purposes.
What’s In Majorie’s Video?
Majorie Taylor Greene, who has been vehemently defended by Donald Trump during her two years in Congress, posted a promo video on various social media platforms Monday (Jan. 9) morning. In the video, Majorie can be seen boasting about her behind-the-scene role in selecting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Not only this, but the congresswoman used Dr. Dre’s iconic 1999 hit “Still D.R.E.” In the short video, Majorie slo-mo walks down the halls of congress in cowboy boots alongside her aids, and then receives a call from “DT”, apparently her ardent supporter, former President Donald Trump.
She captioned the D.R.E-soundtracked video montage: “It’s time to begin.. and they can’t stop what’s coming.” However, politicians were quick to mock her for the “cringe” content. political website Mediaite referred to the video as “bizarre” and said it “left many scratching their heads. Republican Rick Wilson, quote-tweeted her video with the caption: “ChatGPT, show me an example of peak cringe.”
The next episode.. pic.twitter.com/o6g2WVxYBu
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) January 9, 2023
Twitter has now removed this video after a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Greene. Before this letter, Greene mocked the record producer as someone who “glorified” thug life”, stating she deliberately used only the instrumental intro and not lyrical portions.
“While I appreciate the creative chord progression,” Greene stated. “I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs,” she spoke about Dr. Dre. Greene also revealed that her Twitter profile was locked on Monday for some time, but then later, she took to the app, posting about Joe Biden’s classified documents.