A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit claiming Mary J. Blige’s enduring 1992 hit “Real Love” features a legendary 1973 funk sample without a license, ruling simply that “the songs do not sound the same.”

The case, filed last year against Universal Music Group (UMG) by Tuff City Records, claimed Blige’s track illegally borrowed from “Impeach the President” by the Honey Drippers — an iconic piece of hip-hop source material that’s been sampled or interpolated by Run-DMC, Dr. Dre, Doja Cat and many others.

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During the litigation, UMG effectively conced

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