Let’s talk about MC Mountain. He is Queensbridge royalty and a recognized hip-hop legend. He was one of the figures who paved the way not only for Queensbridge rap but for hip-hop as a whole. He gave us “The Bridge,” a song so iconic that it sparked one of the greatest controversies in hip-hop history.
KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions gave him a mission, but what they did will never be forgotten. In 2024, Shan is known for being more real than real. Which brings us to the drama unfolding.
Question: Pete Rock & Common apparently sampled “The Bridge”
So Pete Rock and Common sampled “The Bridge” on “Wise Up” from their Grammy-nominated album THE AUDITORIUM VOL 1. Although he holds his own publishing rights. Shan posted a classic, unfiltered statement on Instagram that caught the attention of Pete Rock and Common.
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The all-caps title should have us calling the individual “Captains” – because there are a lot of them.
“What you don’t know is that I own the publishing business on Bridge, so this is a more serious infringement than you taking my voice and samples on the beat of my own publishing son.
“I usually stay silent about things that are none of my business or when I see a man yelling and doing the same thing and acting like he deserves to be paid, I shouldn’t be better off getting it back from a tribute son The money because he didn’t do it “nothing I do has any effect on me…just like you get your money, guess who gets theirs…”
Now here’s the weird part. Last year, Shan said he was paid and called the pair “respected people.”
This is the tricky part. Shan acknowledged that Common and Pitt may have cleared the samples through “proper” channels, but somehow the money didn’t make it to him. Shan seems very confident that he knows his business.
The bigger picture
It’s crazy to see OG having such a conflict in the game. Pete Rock is a legend, Common is a legend, Shan is a legend. Pete and Common Sense are not the type to intentionally deceive the artists they pay tribute to, so I hope they clarify this.
