HBO’s ragged rock ‘n’ roll drama Vinyl is quickly approaching infamy. The rookie series, which recently capped off its lackluster first season by parting ways with its showrunner, is now the target of a lawsuit brought by hip-hop originator DJ Kool Herc, who claims the Mick Jagger- and Martin Scorsese-created show used his name and likeness without his permission.
In Vinyl’s third episode, “Whispered Secrets,” a young DJ Kool Herc appears, played by Dominique Johnson—Lester Grimes (Ato Essandoh) marvels at Herc’s cutting-edge work on the turntables, but other listeners cry foul, resulting in one of the episode’s most ridiculous moments. Of course, it was in a moment like this that DJ Kool Herc, aka Clive Campbell, created hip-hop.
According to the complaint, filed in New York state court, DJ Kool Herc was offered $10,000 by HBO to waive “overall rights” and consult for Vinyl, an offer he rejected as too low. The lawsuit calls for a trial to determine damages for HBO and production company Broken Records’ “unauthorized use of his identity, name and voice,” plus trademark infringement, per Pitchfork.
Taso Pardalis, DJ Kool Herc’s attorney, told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s beyond us why HBO and the producers of Vinyl, a successful show about artists and music, would hurt an artist like Herc who has contributed so much to the music industry.” HBO’s spokesperson responded by stating, “We are confident there is no validity to the claims.”
Read our 2013 feature on DJ Kool Herc and hip-hop’s beginnings here, and cross your fingers that Vinyl gets its shit together—both on and off the screen—before its second season.