Jerome Lawson, the former lead singer of the famed a cappella group The Persuasions, is suing Apple Inc. for using his voice in an ad for the iPhone 6 without his consent.
The song heard in the short ad in question, which shows an iPhone 6-filmed slow motion video of a man doing BMX tricks, is Jamie xx's "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)." The full song, a single that appeared on Jamie's 2015 album In Colour, features Young Thug and Popcaan. But The Persuasion's 1971 song "Good Times" is heavily sampled on Jamie's track, and it is Lawson's voice that stands out in the below ad.
Lawson is suing Apple as well as the corporation's ad agency, Media Arts Lab, for unpaid royalties.
In the complaint, which was given to the Superior Court in the Central District of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Lawson alleges that Apple's use of the sample of him and his group -- via the Jamie xx song -- is a breach of certain laws dealing with the negotiation process between companies and singers whose voices might appear in their ads.
He also claims that his friends and fans recognized his voice in the ad, and were thus "deceived into falsely believing that Lawson endorsed Apple and the iPhone and/or that Lawson consented to the use of his voice to advertise Apple’s products.”
Around the time of the single's release, Persuasions member Jimmy Hayes said his group was never contacted about the sampling of their song on "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)." That same day, though, Hayes retracted his claim, saying he "forgot" about the sample being cleared. Find both "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" and "Good Times" below.
