Biz Markie Released ‘I Need A Haircut’ On This Date In 1991
I Need a Haircut is the third studio album by Biz Markie. It was released on August 27, 1991, on Cold Chillin’/Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Biz Markie and his cousin Cool V. The album was a minor success, making it to #113 on the Billboard 200 and #44 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums; however, the album forever changed the hip-hop industry because of the album’s 12th track, “Alone Again.” Biz was served a lawsuit by Gilbert O’Sullivan because of “Alone Again” featuring an unauthorized sample from his 1972 song “Alone Again (Naturally).”
The resulting case was Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., in which the court granted an injunction against the defendants to prevent further copyright infringement of the plaintiff’s song by sampling and referred them for criminal prosecution. The judgment changed the hip hop music industry, requiring that any future music sampling be pre-approved by the original copyright owners to avoid a lawsuit. Biz would poke fun at his misfortunes, titling his next album All Samples Cleared!
After Cold Chillin’ ended its deal with Warner, the album was re-pressed without the illegal track.
