Rick Astley, Yung Gravy.Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP/Shutterstock, Greg Doherty/Getty
Rick Astleyis suing rapperYung Gravyfor allegedly imitating his voice on his June 2022 hit “Betty (Get Money).”
“The public could not tell the difference. The imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice was so successful the public believed it was actually Mr. Astley singing,” the lawsuit reads, which also alleged the singer’s voice was used “In an effort to capitalize off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr. Astley.”
The vocal impersonator featured on the song, Nick Seeley (aka Popnick), is also included in the legal action.
“A license to use the original underlying musical composition does not authorize the stealing of the artist’s voice in the original recording,” Astley’s lawyers wrote. “So, instead, they resorted to theft of Mr. Astley’s voice without a license and without agreement.”
Astley pointed to an August 2022 interview Gravy gave toBillboard, in which the rapper said, “My boy Nick, who does a lot of sample replays and recreating original samples, we basicallyremade the whole song. Had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally.”
The legal documents also stated that Astley had wanted to use his voice to collaborate with another artist on a future project, but the release of the song prevented it from happening.
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The suit continued that Astley’s distinctive voice is a resource that needs to be carefully managed, and permission was never granted to use or impersonate his voice.
Along with “Never Gonna Give You Up” Astley topped the charts with “Together Forever” and “It Would Take a Strong Strong Man.”
“Betty (Get Money)” reached gold status in the U.S. and is Yung Gravy’s biggest hit to date.
source: people.com
