Syl Johnson Claims Kanye/Jay-Z Sampled Vocals without Permission

On the deluxe edition of Watch the Throne the track called The Joy is where Johnson claims they used vocals from his classic track called Different Strokes.

Chicago soul singer Syl Johnson was among the millions of people checking out Kanye West and Jay-Z's recent album "Watch the Throne." But he was miffed by what he heard.

Johnson claims one of the songs on the deluxe edition of the album, Kanye's "The Joy," uses vocals from his classic track "Different Strokes" without getting the proper clearance for the sample.

According to a blog posting by The Numero Group -- a Chicago company that specializes on preserving and re-issuing old music, film and photography -- the process first started last summer when they were approached to get the sample cleared by Def Jam. The song was originally supposed to be used on the deluxe version Kanye's successful 2010 solo album "My Beautiful Twisted Fantasy."

But the song was never released and no agreement was ever reached for use of the sample, according to Numero. 

Credits on the album list inaccurately list The Numero Group as the publisher of the sampled song, and more importantly, Johnson isn't getting paid for the use of his vocals on the track.

Numero officials say they haven't been able to get an answer from the sample clearing house.

"Island Def Jam seems to think that Syl doesn't have any fight left in him. We're betting otherwise." -- The Numero Group

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