Ryan Lochte And MC Eiht Fight Trademark Battle Over 'Jeah'

[NelsonG]

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

U.S. Olympic darling Ryan Lochte has found himself in a strange battle with Compton rapper MC Eiht, who gained some fame with his 1994 album We Come Strapped and 2001's Tha8t'z Gangsta, over the phrase "Jeah." Lochte was trying to trademark the term as his own but MC Eiht is claiming that he was the first one to use it.

TMZ reports that Eiht is insulted by the infringement of a term he created in 1988. Eiht tells the news service, "Why try and trademark something his ass didn’t even create? I am mad that he isn’t giving me proper recognition for taking my saying. He is just disrespectful."

Lochte's manager tells a different tale to TMZ. "Ryan has been using JEAH for years," and "This is the first I have heard of this claim by MC Eiht."

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No word on whether Lochte is an MC Eiht fan but earlier he shared that he listened to Lil' Wayne before swimming. "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta's" K. Michelle, a friend of Lochte, revealed his penchant for Weezy. K. Michelle says that Lochte's passion for hip-hop runs deep and he works harder than anyone she knows. "His favorite rapper is Lil Wayne," she told RapFix. "Before he swims he listens to Wayne; he loves Lil Wayne."

Although she claims they're "just friends," the reality star added, "["He's] someone that I can honestly say I look up to a lot... And when I thought about it and I saw his dedication and to saw him win medals like it's nothing...that’s my homie. I'm proud."

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/08/20/ryan-lochte-mc-eiht-fight-trademark-battle-jeah/]View the full article[/url]