Rappers and Sampling

There should be two categories of rap, tunes whose accompanying music is original, and those who simply sample the music of others. The latter is more akin to a recorded poetry reading accompanied by background music.

And f'sure, rappers should pay royalties on music they sample:

Rapper Kanye West and his record label are being sued by the daughter of a jazz musician who says he sampled her late father's music without permission.

Kathleen Firrantello says that, in his track Gone, West used a sample of Joe Farrell's 1974 song Upon This Rock.

If high school bands are required to pay royalties for tunes they play at football games, Kanye and the others should pony up. It's not like they can't afford it.