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Before the release of Yung Gravy’s infectious track “Betty (Get Money),” it was strange to describe singer Rick Astley and rapper Yung Gravy in the same sentence. But the latter’s apparent affinity for 1980s music icons has given way to the aforementioned hits. However, after releasing this track, it seems Yung Gravy isn’t exactly in his Rick’s favor.
That being said, why is Rick suing Jung Gravy?
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Why is Rick Astley suing Yung Gravy?
Rick is suing Jung Gravy for inserting his song “Never Gonna Give You Up” into “Betty (Get Money),” according to Billboard, which has obtained court records filed in Los Angeles. claiming that Jung Gravy broke the law by impersonating Rick’s voice.
“In an attempt to take advantage of Mr. Astley’s immense popularity and goodwill, the defendants conspired to deliberately and almost indistinguishably imitate Mr. Astley’s voice throughout the song,” Rick’s attorney said.
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The legal representative said, “The public couldn’t tell the difference. The imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice was so successful that the public believed it was actually Mr. Astley singing.”
Yung Gravy has legal permission to use the song underlying “Give You Up” which is not owned by Rick. However, Yung Gravy legally could not use Rick’s voice in his samples, so the producer hired Popnick to duplicate it.
“The license to use the original underlying musical work does not allow the artist’s voice to be stolen in the original recording,” Rick’s attorney said on the point. resorted to stealing Mr Astley’s voice without his consent.”
Prosecutors cited the precedent of the 1988 Bette Midler v. Ford Motor Company case. She claimed that the company copied her voice in the ad, even though the company only owned the rights to the original song.
In addition to accusing Yung Gravy of blatantly copying him, Rick is also suing the rapper for violating federal trademark law by making false statements about approving the song.
In an interview with Billboard, Jung Gravy said he spoke with Rick and endorsed “Betty (Get Money).” Rick claims this did not happen.
