Over the past few months Baauer has been dealing with trouble concerning samples used in the Harlem Shake, which apparently belonged to Jayson Musson and Hector Delgado. Since they were sampled in the viral hit, the two men have been seeking compensation for their contribution. In an effort to aid the Mad Decent producer Baauer, Diplo, stepped in to clear the air between the two parties to avoid legal troubles.
“We didn’t know there were any samples in the song to begin with,” Diplo informed the Huffington Post “But when it came to clear the samples – because otherwise he would make negative money – we wanted to help him out.”
Mad Decent sold the Harlem Shake to Warner for distribution which added to the legal complications, “But we had enough clout that we sorted it out,” commented Diplo. The Harlem Shake was a crucial track for the Mad Decent label and gave it new life on the brink of closure. Diplo later said:
“Honestly, that record was the thing that saved the label, because a year ago we were going to fold because we couldn’t figure out how to make money, Then we just started giving music out for free and it worked out.”
-Nick Ward @NickWard20