Tyler Perry may be the king of black cinema now, but folk are certainly out there to dethrone him. Or at least get a part of those riches.

According to TMZ, gospel singer Johnny Stringfield filed a lawsuit with on Feb. 3 stating the Madea creator “lifted the lyrics” from his 2008 copyrighted song “I Got Away.”

Perry used a song similiar to Stringfield’s work on an episode of Perry’s TBS network sitcom Meet the Browns, where one of the lead characters jumps into the lyric, “The devil thought he had me..but I got away.”

Stringfield is asking for $100,000 due to copyright infringement and to make sure his legal team is compensated for their work.

“My family and I have always loved Tyler Perry — and now we’re going to love him a whole lot more,” he told TMZ.”

Here the versions for yourself and you be the judge.
http://www.tmz.com/2010/02/05/tyler-perry-lawsuit-meet-the-browns-johnny-stringfield/

2 Responses

1. matthew5and9

   02/11/2010 at 11:19 pm

   This is a saying that has been used in predominantly African American church for years. “The devil thought he has me but I got away” is as common in predominately AA churches as is “Praise the Lord” is in all churches. I am not seeing copy right infringement here due to the broad use of the words.

2. Honestly

   02/16/2010 at 9:36 pm

   I agree. No infringement here. That’s like an old revival song that someone would make up during testimony service back in the day. It has a basic tune that folks use for several songs such as “God is a good God, yes He is”, “You don’t know like I know, what He’s done for me”, and “What’s the matter with Jesus, He’s alright”….PLEASE! This guy is ridiculous if he’s really trying to take credit for that…A MESS!

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