Felix Da Housecat slams DJ Hell with plagiarism claims

In a twist of tabloid-style drama, a war of words has erupted between two of the DJing community’s higher profile figures, Felix Da Housecat and DJ Hell. Well, perhaps ‘war’ isn’t the right term for this little conflict as it’s been a largely one-sided affair so far, with Felix firing off a range of incensed attacks at the upcoming Australian visitor, Hell.

So what’s the beef between the ‘cat and DJ Hell? Apparently, Felix Da Housecat has taken serious issue with DJ Hell’s latest single, The DJ, and its vocal spot from Bad Boy rapper Diddy, with Felix alleging that Hell stole Diddy’s vocal track from an old session between Diddy and the feline-themed producer back in 2003.

First coming to our attention from a thread on the inthemix forums, Felix Da Housecat was sent into a rage on his Twitter, blowing up about the alleged plagiarism and levelling some vicious attacks at the International Deejay Gigolo honcho.

“DJ Hell why do u keep on Stealin’ my $h*t releasing it with No permission>>? Im gonna have 2 expose you! your a DICK!” the producer wrote in the typically scattered fashion that is the norm on his Twitter account. “F*K dat F*KA..He better pray dat I dont have mezcal in my system when IC HIM!”

Continuing on with his digital tirade, Felix fleshed out the origins of the saga, explaining that he had previously given DJ Hell a CD containing outtakes of his sessions with Diddy, only to be shocked to find it recycled by DJ Hell, who he attests never asked permission to use the sample and must have “gone broke”.

Whilst Felix’s hyperbolic rants (he even went so far as to play the race card and compare himself to Chuck Berry as a victim of white artistic theft) tend to distort the bigger picture of the conflict, the producer does indeed seem to have grounds against DJ Hell. Posting the original audio outtake from the Felix/Diddy sessions on the producer’s Bopper Nation page, it is indeed the very same vocal track used in Hell’s The DJ. What’s more, in the original vocal track, Diddy directly addresses the ‘cat behind the boards, name checking Felix throughout the song, yet such references have been edited by Hell for the single.

Up to that point, it all looks quite murky for the German techno don, yet in a recent statement from Hell’s Gigolo stable, the producer rebukes the plagiarism claims, insisting that the track did indeed receive clearance from Diddy himself. Read the statement below.

Some of you may have noticed that Felix Da Housecat is waxing lyrical this week about the origins of the vocal Hell has used for The DJ. We would like to make this statement as a reaction:

This week sees the release of DJ Hells latest single ‘The DJ feat. P. Diddy,’ the third installment in a trilogy, which began in 2003 with ‘Let’s Get Ill’ feat. Kelis, followed by 2005’s ‘Jack U.’ Their latest collaboration was approved by P. DIddy and Bad Boy Entertainment in January 2009, with contracts issued by their law firm Grubman, Indursky & Shire, P.C. Since that time International Deejay Gigolo records, under the A&R direction of DJ Hell, acquired a host of acclaimed remixes, which all passed through P. Diddys office for approval and have subsequently found their way to your local record store.

As the Diddy sample is indeed just a bare vocal track, it seemingly places Felix and his copyright claims in a grey area, but that hasn’t quelled the producer’s anger, responding to DJ Hell’s statement with another fiery address.

“He still had to get permission from me, because it was my recording session outtakes from Jack U,” he said before taking to Twitter once again; “Dj Hell u a Liar. U got clearance from @iamdiddy but u didn’t get permission from me fuker! I produced dat shit what a jerk!”

So much drama. It’s like we don’t even need to watch Neighbours tonight! This seems to be just the tip of the iceberg in the burgeoning feud between Felix Da Housecat and DJ Hell, so stay tuned to ITM for more coverage as it hits.