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Photo Credit: Laurent Chevalier for Okayplayer.
Photo Credit: Laurent Chevalier for Okayplayer.
Did Donald Glover rip off this underground song?
On Sunday, Donald Glover attended the BET Awards in Los Angeles. During the show, host Jamie Foxx spent a couple of minutes heaping praise on Glover, aka Childish Gambino, and his latest hit "This is America." Glover even sang an improv version of the song during the show.
READ: This Is Black America: Donald Glover's Wake-Up Call
However, while this was going on, a controversy was brewing on social media. On Sunday afternoon, Twitter user @RappersRActors tweeted about how "This is America" sounded a lot like an obscure 2016 rap song from Jase Harley called "American Pharoah." (@RappersRActors said he had been tipped off by another Twitter user, @Catf1sh.)
In "American Pharoah," there is a familiar structure. And Harley uses the same kind of cadence:
The similarities of the two songs got a lot of attention on social media. Glover himself hasn't responded to the claims. But Fam Rothstein, a member of his management team, dismissed the claims. Rothstein says "This is America" is three years old and they have pro tool files to prove it:
READ: Donald Glover Says He Tried To Do 'The Q-Tip Take' On Atlanta's Second Season
Jase Harley has also responded to the claims. Harley doesn't seem to be taking it too hard. On his Instagram he responded to comments saying "it's all love."
Here are some screengrabs that Reddit were able to get:
Listen to "This is America" and "American Pharoah" below. What do you think? Do you hear the similarities?
Source: Reddit
