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4/19/12

Buzz Bissinger Calls out Big K.R.I.T. Over Boobie Miles Song

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Genius writer/mad man Buzz Bissinger, author of the classic book turned television series, has called out rapper Big K.R.I.T over his use of Boobie Miles’ name. First he did it in his new e-book “After Friday Night Lights,” a follow up to the original book that catches up with Miles but also, according to Buzz, explains the impact Miles had on his life.

According to Bissinger, Miles is working a $12 an hour job and has not met, spoken to or received any money from Big K.R.I.T’s use of his name. As far as Bissinger is concerned Miles is being ripped off. Grantland posted an excerpt from the ebook including the part where Miles and Bissinger catch up and discuss the issue:

We settle down to catch up. I ask him about the new rap song by Big K.R.I.T. called “Boobie Miles.”

“Big K.R.I.T. never asked permission to use your name, did he?”

“I don’t even know that dude.”

“You should sue the motherfucker. Everybody knows it’s based on you.”

Boobie is reluctant to accuse, the essential core of his decency.

“I wouldn’t want to sue him, because he’s doing something that I have a love of doing. I’m not a hater of anything like that.”

He would like to meet Big K.R.I.T., just talk to him. But the phone hasn’t rung. And Boobie makes his 12 dollars an hour, with no benefits until he has worked there long enough to get the benefits, and meanwhile he has to deal with the county probation officer who sometimes comes around unannounced and scares the shit out of him because he thinks his boss will freak out and fire him. He has to pay probation — $275 a month — as restitution for the aggravated assault he was convicted of in 2010. Plus there are support payments of $600 a month for the twins he had in 2000 with his now-estranged wife, Shayla, as well as another child born out of wedlock. (He also has two other kids.) The payments leave him with a take-home each month of about a thousand dollars, perhaps a little more depending on his hours.

[To finish this post click Read More]

This morning Bissinger tweeted Big K.R.I.T. imploring him to at least reach out to Miles. I checked K.R.I.T.’s timeline and so far no public response to Bissinger.

My thoughts: I don’t think K.R.I.T. owes Miles anything. I say this because Friday Night Lights was such a huge success that Miles became a symbol…a public figure of sorts. Unfortunately, fame doesn’t always equal fortune.  It’s hard to imagine attaching a dollar amount every single time someone makes a song about Beyonce or Kim Kardashian or Rick Ross or Rayful Edmonds or whoever else is the symbol of the moment. I do think it would be a great thing if K.R.I.T, who is one of my favorite rappers, did throw a few dollars Miles’ way. But, no, I do not believe he’s obligated.

On his timeline, Bissinger mentions that everyone except him ripped Miles off — including the movie and the TV show. It’s unbelievable how millions can be made using the stories of people who don’t receive a dime in compensation for it-especially when their real name is used. But a movie or tv show is no different from a song or book-it’s all art. But it is tough to see so much $$ be made off of someone’s story while they struggle. It just **feels** wrong. But practically it makes sense and the public benefits from this being the case. This way movies like “Game Change” can be made without compensating every single person mentioned in the book thereby making it impossible to reproduce versions of history on the big or little screen.

You can hear KRIT’s song here.

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