Oh Rick Ross, don't you know you bleed your own dignity bit by obnoxious bit? Rick Ross is suing LMFAO for the use of his lyrics "everyday I'm hustlin'" in LMFAO's song "Party Rock Anthem." Thing is, Ross must not know the difference between hustling and shuffling. Ross's lyrics say, "everyday I'm hustlin'" in his 2006 song "Hustlin'." LMFAO's song goes, as everyone knows, "everyday I'm shufflin'." I mean. Come on.
This entire hullaballoo reeks of cash-flow issues for Ross — he's had an entire four years since the release of "Party Rock Anthem" to pursue legal action about this whole hustlin'/shufflin' fandango. Why speak up now? Plus, he argues that LMFAO's lyrics are a clear sign of derivative work (um, not really) and he is suing for buttloads of money because why not, I guess.
Either Ross has been living under a rock for four years, or his legal team is frighteningly lazy, but neither makes his case look particularly good. And more importantly, hustlin' and shufflin' are not even remotely the same thing, in definition or in context.
Hustle, in the way Ross means it, is defined as "obtain illicitly or by forceful action," whereas shuffling, in the way that LMFAO means it is, "a dance in which the feet slide along or move close to the floor." Now, as a general fan of words, I'm appalled by Ross's idea that these two words are related. How could a dance move in any way be an allegory for pressuring people by nature of being terrifying?
So Rick Ross, just sit down pal, and LMFAO, just keep on... well, shufflin'.
