Diplo Says He Got the Samples to Baauer's "Harlem Shake" Cleared

That part of the song where you hear "Con los terroristas" and the infamous "Do the Harlem Shake!" were samples that weren't cleared.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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We're living in a post-"Harlem Shake" America, which is an era when Baauer was facing a lawsuit in until now. That part of the song where you hear "Con los terroristas" and the infamous "Do the Harlem Shake!" were samples that weren't cleared according to the two artists who were sampled—Delgado and Hennesey Youngman. Diplo came to Baauer's rescue and arranged a deal with the two to clear the samples.

Perhaps the best thing about the whole situation is how Diplo made it seem like the whole thing was no big deal. In regards to Hennessey Youngman's deal, Diplo said: "He hit us up and said the album never got licensed or published, so we just cut a deal where he could make some money off that." And as for Delgado: "The Puerto Rican guys, they kept calling me because I know everyone in Puerto Rico, so I just sorted that out...It wasn't even them, it was Universal Publishing."

Were these deals offers they couldn't refuse or something? Maybe. Mad Decent is pretty gangster after all. Either way, it pays to be on Team Diplo. It also pays to have a song like "Harlem Shake" released through your label; Diplo said it was the song that saved Mad Decent from going under: ”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.”

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[via Do Androids Dance]

 

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