Eminem To Sue The Source

Rap superstar Eminem is suing American music magazine THE SOURCE after it attempted to release a song he recorded as a teenager, which contains racist lyrics.

Music fans were outraged when the lyrics were first printed in the magazine in 2003.

They include the lines, "Blacks and whites, they sometimes mix/But black girls only want your money, 'cause they dumb chicks."

In his defence, Eminem claimed he wrote the song "out of anger, stupidity and frustration. I'd just broken up with my girlfriend, who was African-American, and I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was."

The STAN hitmaker was originally granted an injunction to prevent the magazine from releasing the song on CD, but The Source bosses got it lifted and a sample of the song was released.

But a New York judge this week (3JAN04) granted permission to the STAN hitmaker to pursue his copyright infringement lawsuit.

Consequently, The Source's co-owner DAVE MAYS has accused Eminem and his record company SHADY RECORDS of using their money and power to fight the freedom of the press.

He says, "This case is about freedom of the press... and the way that Eminem and Shady have tried to suppress those freedoms.

"These guys are trying to use the courts and their finances to stop us from doing what every other press outlet does on a daily basis."